Africa Wild

2012-12-05 14:04

Poachers 'decimating' Uganda elephants


Yaounde - A top official of the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature says that two gangs of heavily armed poachers from Sudan are heading for northern Cameroon to slaughter elephants.

WWF Cameroon conservation director Hason Njiforti said on Tuesday that despite armed guards Cameroon's dwindling elephant population is being decimated by international poaching rings.

Early this year, poachers travelled more than 1 000km on horseback from Sudan, crossing through the Central African Republic to reach northern Cameroon's Bouba Ndjida National Park where they killed more than 300 elephants in two months.

The killings wiped out about 80% of the park's elephant population.

Njiforte warned that intelligence surveillance shows that two large groups of the same armed poachers are again on their way to Cameroon, travelling through the Central African Republic.


- SAPA

Experts alarmed by dramatic increase in elephant killings
05 DEC 2012 10:02 - SIPHO KINGS

While South Africa is battling rhino poaching, it seems to be escaping the continental elephant purge. But not for long, writes Sipho Kings.

Tens of thousands of elephants were killed across Africa last year and populations are plummeting.

In 2007 there were roughly half a million elephants in Africa. This number has steadily grown after the trade in ivory was banned in 1989, until the last decade. Now there has been a dramatic increase in the mass killing of elephants.

In February over 300 elephants were killed at the Bouba N'Djida National Park in northern Cameroon. This number represents nearly half of the park's population.In response, the army launched an offensive against poachers who were freely operating in the park.

Similar killings have been occurring across eastern and western Africa. Tanzania is losing around 30 elephants a day, according to its government. And while the incidents of poaching in South Africa's neighbouring countries are increasing, it is not yet an issue here.

Julian Blanc, acting co-ordinator and data analyst at Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (Mike), said: "While poaching levels in southern Africa are not as high as in other parts of the continent, they are steadily increasing."

Mike is a child of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), and it has kept track of elephant poaching since the trade in ivory was banned.

Link between deaths and consumer demand
Blanc said that levels of poaching were increasing at all nine sites they monitor in southern Africa. In the past the region had been seen as secure. Last year these levels, on average, reached an unsustainable point, where the rate of poaching exceeds the natural population growth, he said. "If this trend continues, the situation could become as serious as elsewhere on the continent," he said.

But Kruger National Park and Etosha did not seem to be affected yet, he said. This could possibly be due to the wealth of these areas and better governance. "The Mike programme has found strong relationships between poaching levels and poverty, with higher levels at sites where people are comparatively poor," he said.

And like with the boom in rhino poaching, elephant deaths are directly linked to demand in consumer markets. "If demand continues to increase we could see elephant poaching spreading to these populations that are still considered secure," said Blanc.

Bryan Coll, media liaison at the United Nations Environment Programme, said he was surprised elephant poaching was not an issue in South Africa, given the devastation happening elsewhere. But he did say there was "a lot of concern about trends across the continent". And if the easily accessible populations in the north start to run out, it will be natural for poachers to turn to Southern Africa, where half the continent's elephants still reside, he said.

In its big re-zoning plan this year, Kruger Park made several allusions to the future problems with elephant poaching. The document repeatedly mentions "the threat of elephant poaching looming on the horizon".

'Most serious crisis'
And in looking at the surrounding countries and their growing problems with poaching, it also warned: "Elephant poaching is already occurring in some of our neighbouring countries and is threatening to spill into the park."

In its mid-year report, Cites said the rising levels of seized ivory were a good indicator of the increase in poaching. The levels of seized ivory from 2009 to last year were three of the five highest since trade was banned. This trade mostly left ports in Kenya and Tanzania, destined for China and Thailand, it said.

At the time Tom Milliken, leader of the Elephant and Rhino Programme at wildlife monitoring organisation Traffic, said: "Evidence is steadily mounting that shows that African elephants are facing their most serious crisis since international commercial trade in ivory was generally prohibited under Cites in 1989."

Louis Lemmer, spokesperson for the Honorary Rangers, said that elephant poaching had not yet become a problem in this area because of the availability of rhino horn. "As long as there is rhino horn still available, ivory poaching will probably remain on a low level," he said.

But given the rise of poaching elsewhere and the existing syndicates for rhino poaching in the region, it is a problem "which can easily start growing in our area too", he said.

Lemmer said it had been a huge problem in the 1980s and it took a concentrated effort and a very long time to eradicate it. "The one luck we have within the horrible rhino poaching situation is that measures being put in place to protect our rhino will also benefit elephant conservation."

Interesting how China has also become the major trading partner for many African states over the last decade...


I don't quite follow the logic as to how rhino poaching is keeping elephant poaching in check?

Richprins wrote:I don't quite follow the logic as to how rhino poaching is keeping elephant poaching in check?

Exactly why I hi-lighted it in red. Very confusing

News24
2013-01-23 21:45


Vatican City - The Vatican defended itself on Wednesday against accusations it encourages illegal ivory trafficking, telling elephant lovers it would do what it could to help combat "a serious and unjustifiable phenomenon" but warning campaigners not to expect too much.

The publication of a National Geographic report in September 2012 on illegal ivory pointed the finger at the Vatican, noting the use of ivory in making precious religious tokens and accusing Pope Benedict xvi of accepting or giving ivory items as gifts.

The report sparked a flurry of angry letters and the Vatican responded on Wednesday with a long and personal response penned by its spokesperson Federico Lombardi to "friends of the elephants".

Lombardi, 70, said he had "never heard or even read a word that would encourage the use of ivory for devotional objects" since he began working at the Vatican and had "never seen a gift in ivory given by the Pope."

Shops within the tiny Vatican state do not sell items made of ivory and nearby stores which flog religious items to tourists are on Italian territory and do not come under the Holy See's jurisdiction, he said.

"The 'Vatican' has no responsibility and no control to exercise over... businesses that are located in the neighbourhood around the Vatican," he added.

The massacre of elephants for their ivory "is a serious problem that Christians can and should unite against, as against all problems concerning the safeguarding of creation," he said.

However, "it is impossible to think that the 'Vatican' might have at its disposal powerful and effective tools for combating the massacre of elephants by destroying the burgeoning illegal trade in ivory," he added.

Lombardi said the pope intervenes frequently on environmental awareness and assured campaigners that the Vatican would do more to engage Catholics on the issue of illegal ivory trafficking, including launching a series of information programmes on Radio Vatican on the subject.

- SAPA

Here the links to the National Geographic articles:

Ivory Worship

National Geographic Magazine Investigative Report Reveals Religious Art As a Driver of Illegal Ivory Trade

Vatican Stand on Religious Use of Ivory Would Help Slow Illegal Killings of Elephants




And here is what Lombardi said
Testo italiano della risposta di p. Federico Lombardi al "National Geographic" sul problema dello sterminio degli elefanti e sul traffico illegale di avorio

To sum it up: There is nothing we can do about it, as we don't have any effective tools to fight the slaughter of elephants or the illegal trade in ivory.

Petition: Pope Benedict XVI: Stop Blood Ivory!

Why this is important

Last week news broke that a prominent Catholic leader advised an undercover journalist how to smuggle elephant ivory! The story lifted the veil on the powerful role of religion in fueling the slaughter of elephants to make ornaments. But we can push the Vatican to drop the demand and help stop blood ivory.

Thousands of elephants are killed each year so that their tusks can be carved into religious objects. In the Philippines ivory figurines of Catholic saints are so popular that the word for ivory also means ‘religious statue’. The Vatican has so far refused to take firm action, but if the Pope calls on all Catholics to stop buying and selling ivory figurines -- he could help stop the slaughter.

Let’s call on the Pope to follow the legacy of St. Francis, the Catholic patron saint of animals, and lead his congregation to stop fueling the cruel blood ivory trade. Click on the right to add your name to the petition -- if we reach 100,000 names, Avaaz will light one candle for every elephant murdered last year in front of St. Peter’s cathedral in the Vatican

SIGN THIS PETITION
As concerned citizens from around the world, we call on you to immediately denounce the murder of elephants and the use of religious ivory ornements. We further urge you to sign onto the CITES treaty for animal protection, sending a strong message to Catholics everywhere that elephant murder is wrong.

You can sign the petition here

25 000 elephants killed in 2011!!! And we thought rhino poaching was bad!!