Courtesy Africa Update – December Issue
Office of U.S. Representative Karen Bass
Washington, DC 20515
The Obama administration demonstrated a clear message last week when the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service crushed six tons of ivory in Denver, Colorado. This public act highlights the illegal ivory trade that has had disastrous effects on wildlife, numerous African economies and has helped to fund terrorism.
Last year, poaching and the illegal hunting of elephants and rhinos resulted in the death of more than 30,000 elephants across the African continent. The ivory trade was outlawed in 1989 but in 2011, poaching rates on the continent were the highest they have been since the international ban took effect. The value of figurines and household items is worth far less than the cost the illegal ivory trade is having on wildlife around the world.
Al-Shabab, the terrorist group that perpetrated the attack at the Westgate Mall in Kenya is partially funded by the illegal ivory trade. Despite such an example, the demand for the illegal ivory comes largely from an increase in demand from nations like China, Vietnam, Thailand and the United States. In fact, the U.S. is the world’s second-largest market for ivory.
As the demand for ivory increases, local economies and communities on the continent continue to be negatively impacted. Last week Secretary of State John Kerry presented a $1 million dollar award for information that would help dismantle a criminal operation in Laos that kills elephants and rhinos for ivory and their horns.
Despite the symbolic significance of the crushing, efforts must continue to ensure that the illegal ivory trade is dismantled.
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