Vietnam torches illegal ivory and rhino horn cache
November 12, 2016
Vietnam has destroyed seized ivory and rhino horn, wildlife products derived from species threatened with extinction. The public display of destruction comes ahead of a global conference to combat the illicit trade.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Hau Dinh
Advertisement
Vietnamese authorities destroyed more than 2,200 kilograms (5,000 pounds) of seized elephant ivory and rhino horns Saturday, sending a message ahead of a key international conference that they want illegal wildlife trafficking stopped.
"The government is committed to combating the illegal wildlife trade and another message is that the government and Vietnamese people are not allowed to use the wildlife products that come from illegal trade," said Vuong Tien Manh, deputy director of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The horns were crushed and then burned on the outskirts of Hanoi, with Vietnam joining 20 other nations in the destruction of seized wildlife products. Rapacious appetites for horns and tusks in parts of Asia have affected elephant and rhino populations in much of Africa, where poaching is rampant.
Hub for illegal trade
Next week's CITES conference will be held in the northern Vietnamese city of Hanoi. It will be attended by officials and experts including Britain's Prince William, a vocal critic of the illegal wildlife trade.
The southeast Asian country is one of the world's major transit points and consumers of trafficked ivory and rhino horns. The seized cache - estimated to be worth more than $7 million (7.6 million euros) on the black market - burnt on Saturday came from some 330 African elephants and 23 rhinos that were slaughtered by poachers. Ivory is used to make jewelry and home decorations, and rhino horns are widely believed in some circles to have cancer-curing properties.
Saturday's burning was the country's first mass destruction of seized horns and tusks Image: Getty Images/AFP//Hoang Dinh Nam
The African elephant is facing an unprecedented poaching and trafficking threat. An estimated 100,000 elephants were killed illegally from 2010 to 2012 to meet the global demand for ivory, according to Humane Society International, an international animal protection group. Poachers slaughtered more than 6,000 rhinos across Africa in the last decade; in South Africa, 13 rhinos were poached in 2007, but there has been a dramatic increase since then, and more than 1,300 were poached in 2015 alone, the group said.
jar/tj (AFP, AP)
Poaching takes a toll on elephants
Elephant numbers have dropped by more than 60 percent over the last decade due to habitat loss and poaching. An estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers seeking ivory and meat.
Image: picture alliance/blickwinkel/M. Hicken
Dwindling numbers
A century ago, 10 million elephants were roaming across Africa - today, there are an estimated 450,000 to 700,000 African elephants and between 35,000 and 40,000 wild Asian elephants. Since elephant numbers have dropped by 62 percent over the last decade, conservationists fear they could be almost extinct in the next 10 years.
Image: picture-alliance/R. Harding
Killed for their ivory tusks
Every day, around 100 African elephants are killed for their tusks, which end up being sold mainly on the Asian market. In the past five years, Chinese demand for ivory has gone up, which fueled poaching even more. In July, customs officials at Zurich airport seized 262 kilograms (578 pounds) of ivory chopped up and hidden in eight suitcases during a random search on three Chinese passengers.
Image: Reuters/R. Sprich
Conflict fueled by ivory sales
Wildlife trafficking has been estimated to be the third biggest illegal business after drug and human trafficking. Illegal ivory boosts all kind of conflicts across the continent. For example, insurgent groups like Al-Shabab, the Lord's Resistance Army and Boko Haram buy weapons by handing in elephant tusks. A pound of ivory sells for about $1,000 (903 euros) on the Chinese black market.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/African Parks
Coexisting with elephants
Despite a ban on international ivory trade, elephants are still being targeted in large numbers. Organizations like SOS Elephants say it's crucial to teach local communities about why elephants are important for Africa's ecosystem and how they can make a living through ecotourism and coexisting farming techniques instead.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa-Zentralbild
Habitat loss
In addition to poaching, elephants are also struggling with dwindling habitat. Human populations have vastly increased since the turn of the century, meaning there's less space for elephants: Forests have been cleared and turned into land for crops or livestock. And some of the animals have been captured, trained and used for activities such as illegal logging.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Gambarini
Silver lining?
At the end of July 2015, US President Barack Obama announced plans to effectively ban most ivory trade in the United States and to add new restrictions when it could be exported. The US is the second biggest market for ivory after China which has also pledged to clamp down on ivory trade on its domestic markets.
