The Pros And Cons Of Banning The Tuaching Of African Elephants

According to an article published by Upfront Magazines, " In Mozambique, the number of people living inside one of the country’s national parks grew to about 35,000 in 2012 from about 21,000 in 2001. The explanation is that the elephants are destroying crops and the only way to stop them is to, you know, destroy them, aka kill the elephants. I think that there should be other ways the farmers take care of the problem. I think they need to think of the big picture when they are about to put the final blow on the elephants. I believe that this is just one thing to add on to the pile for the struggle of surviving for the elephants. But what the real reason the elephants are going extinct is because of poaching,

&An. : Ivory is a very special material used for lots of things, but it comes at the price of hundreds of innocent elephants being killed for a small amount of material, and it’s really affecting the elephant population

Elephant populations suffered a drop in numbers that carried the species into the endangered animals list. At the beginning of the twentieth century, about ten million elephants lived in Africa. Presently, the ten million is reduced to half a million because of illegal hunting and habitat loss. Studies of the population show twenty-two thousand were killed in 2012 and twenty-five thousand in 2011. When comparing the death rate to the natural population growth, there is a possibility the largest mammal on Earth could be extinct soon (Vaughan 1). Because the elephant is the largest animal to walk on land, the greatly increasing human population affects the elephant population first. They live in some regions of the world that have the densest human population which continues to grow, which therefore continuously decreases their own population (Bryner 1). As the human population swiftly increases, the elephant population in turn, decreases. This is so because they cannot cohabitate the same living space. Elephants and humans cannot cohabitate because they would kill each other due to the inability to communicate. About population recovery, the Animal wildlife foundation states, “Populations of elephants- especially in Southern and Eastern Africa- that once showed promising signs of recovery could be at risk due to the recent surge in poaching for the illegal ivory trade”(1). Poaching presents one of the main issues that make recovery so difficult for these animals.

Hunters, activist or conservationists have a common goal “ensure that endangered species are here for generations to come” . Some comments that conservation trough commerce is a worthy way to manage natural resources and create awareness of endangered species. Hunters are more likely to be interested in support charities in order to prevent endangered animals to become extinct.

The official title of the world’s largest land dwelling animal belongs to the elephant, more specifically, the African elephant. Elephants also are some of the most deadly animals, which therefore increase the danger of human and elephant interactions. The more human interactions occur, the more deaths result, whether it is the elephant or the human who dies. These animals, surprisingly, are socially apt; their trunk is used for more than just eating and drinking- it is used for socializing. They are complex animals who live in large familial herds-females stay with their family throughout their entire lives while males only stay for approximately fifteen years (Elephant Protection, 1). Elephants possess a great memory and only forget what they learn occasionally and rarely, giving way to the “an elephant never forgets” saying (Maloiy, 178c). Despite how many people use the beloved saying, elephants may not be around much longer due to the shortened life span and increased mortality rates. Due to their incisor teeth, tusks, being extremely expensive and profitable, they are being murdered for the wealth they carry. This, coupled with the life span shortening because of malicious treatments and brutal practices reduces the life span of the African elephant from 56 to 16 years and the Asian elephant from 42 to 19 years (Elephant Protection, 1). According to what the statistics show, elephants may be following their ancestors to their death. Of the group of mammals called

Because of the poaching of game like the elephant, the number of species will start to diminish. What hunters brought to the villages of Botswana was the money and the meat from the animals to feed the many people that go hungry everyday. Hunters that would take animals such as an elephant wouldn’t take any of the meat for themselves but rather they give all of the meat to the villages in the area. However, when poaching starts to take over, there will be zero meat or money that will be put back into the community. Poachers that kill elephants are only after one thing and that is the ivory from the elephant tusks. After taking the tusks, the elephant is left to rot. Another animal that is sought after by poachers in Botswana is the rhino. The rhino is poached for their horns, which are supposedly an aphrodisiac in China so the demand is high. Because of these effects, groups like SCI are so important to different places around the world. The money brought in by the hunters is used to hire conservation officers to protect the rhinos and elephants and to buy land that will be put into game preserves so the numbers of these species will increase because there aren’t any pressures from hunting or

Big game hunting is cause A major population damage . One of them is one of the most beloved animals in the world the Elephant. Every year, tens of thousands of elephants are being killed for trophies . Their population in Africa dropped from 62,000 all the way down to 20,000 in the last decade. WWF Global said they are due to be extinct in the next decade if nothing is done to stop the big game hunter. It’s not just Africa, where animals are being killed for trophies. ‘In Canada there is a breed of leopards called Amurs that were driven down to 10 left in the whole world ‘’ What caused this big game hunters from all over came to hunt an

Because of the sale of illegal ivory so many elephants' lives are put at risk. If the poaching of elephants and ever-growing trade in illegal ivory is to be seriously addressed, part of the solution to this complex problem must be a return to the full ban on the sale of ivory established in 1989 (Bloody Ivory). Between 434,000 and 684,000 African savanna elephants in 18 countries remain, down 30% in the last seven years. Once again levels of poaching and illegal trade have spiraled out of control. Rates of poaching are now the worst they have been since 1989. There are no easy answers, but a total ivory trade ban is the one strategy we know has worked (Mary Rice). Hong Kong seized 779 elephant tusks three days into 2013, over a ton of ivory,

Certainly, elephant trophies pose an environmental issue because elephants provide many benefits to the environment. Two brief examples are making grasslands and water holes. Political Ecologists will probably find that those who could afford to lobby politically in favor of the elephant trophy U.S. import ban care more about money than the environment, and those who care more about the environment, such as animal rights groups and conservation organizations, that are in objection to the ban, might face a huge disadvantage for lack of sufficient political power.

For example, myths that rhino horns can cure cancer has led to a poaching frenzy in parts of Africa. Some countries, however, have recognized that this is a major problem and have begun to take action. In Indonesia, wildlife protection groups, such as the WCU (Wildlife Crime Unit), along with law enforcement have come together to decrease the amounts of poaching and trading committed. Between 2006 and 2008, the WCU generated 63 reports of illegal hunting, trading, smuggling or possession, which led 35 arrest or confiscation operations. This is proof that with proper training and funding wildlife extinction can be

Right now in the U.S. the selling of protected wildlife is one of the largest criminal earnings, and it is a multibillion dollar business. It is only second to arms smuggling, drug trafficking (Kendall, Jodi). The smuggling of exotic animals is killing and threatening these animals. A great example of this is people poaching orangutans. They are killing the mothers to take the baby orangutans. Many of the orangutans do not make it during capture and transport

With an estimated 600 elephants, Addo has one of the highest population numbers of African elephants in the world. Each Addo elephant is, surprisingly, individually named and identified by the wrinkles on the face, unique notches, tears or vein patterns in the ears. There are seven distinct family groups in the park with smaller subgroups. Due to isolation, and a small original population size, genetic diversity is low amongst the Addo elephants; the majority of elephants are related. Many of the original 11 did not have tusks, and most likely survived because there was no attraction of ivory.

Poaching is a concern because it’s putting Elephants species in danger so far to where they could be extinct.

There are organizations around the globe designed to stop elephant poaching. Their intent is to sway people’s opinions to help with the world-wide problem. Only a global ban on the sale of ivory would take the heat off of these massive creatures. Solutions might include, addressing the involvement of international criminal institutes by means of strong law enforcement at both national and international levels along the full extent of the supply. Closing down domestic (national) markets in ivory, would also be beneficial. Countries could embrace the trade ban, and educate consumers in order to stem the demand for ivory (Bloody Ivory; January 11, 2013).

The slaughter of the African elephant by poachers fuels the profitable black market for ivory. The black market endangers not only the elephant, but the livelihoods of local communities too. It also undermines both national and regional security as well as finances several criminal organizations.