Ivory Trade Research Paper

Andrew McClarren
Professor George
4/3/13
Ivory Trade Poachers in countries such as Tanzania, Zambia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and China are rapidly lowering the population of animals with tusks in Asia and Africa. Wild animals such as the greater one-horned rhinoceros, elephants, narwhals, and walruses are mercilessly hunted and killed for their horns. Governments and organizations have implemented many laws to eliminate the poaching of these animals, but with little success. Since 1997 poaching rates have risen substantially. Throughout the world it is against the law to poach any animal or trade or sell their horns. These tusks, depending on the length and weight, can make poachers extremely wealthy. Illegal trading of ivory is an epidemic
destroying the lives of helpless animals and fragile ecosystems globally. Ivory is the hard, bone-like substance that makes up the horns of animals. This material is high in value because it is used to make things such as jewelry, carvings and artwork. Ivory is an extremely valuable substance to anyone throughout the world. The most common types of ivory traded illegally are the tusks of the elephant. Elephant tusks grow larger than any other species’. Tanzania and Zambia have seen drastic decreases in their elephant populations over the last twenty years. The elephant’s tusks are taken by poachers and sold globally. Zambia and Tanzania are among the largest sources of, and transit countries for, Africa’s illegal ivory. The ivory of the narwhal and walrus are the least known, most unique and prized ivory in existence today because they are exceptionally hard to catch or find. According to expert Marloes Rijkelijkhuizen, “Walrus ivory is obtained from the upper canines of the walrus and can be up to 1 meter long. Walrus ivory can be recognized by the two types of dentine that are present. The primary, outer dentine is very homogenous; the secondary, inner dentine has a very typical chaotic structure.”
Hunting of these animals is an activity known as poaching. Poaching is the illegal killing or taking of wild animals, such as through hunting, harvesting, fishing or trapping. This is what must be done by people in order to seize tusks. The length of a narwhal’s tusk can range up to eight feet and sell for approximately $24,000 at auction. In addition, the tusks of a walrus can reach up to a meter and sell for approximately $10,000 in auction. In the last 20 years poaching of these beautiful creatures has steadily increased. Experts believe this rise has been caused through extensive publicity of the topic. Kate O’Connel, a researcher for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS), says: “I think most people would find it abhorrent that such a trade should impact on such a beautiful animal." Those who choose to poach are in the business for money. The desire to become wealthy has been fulfilled by people who can poach successfully. Poachers have no mercy for the animals they hurt or the ecosystems that are affected. The killing of any animal negatively affects the ecosystem that contained them, whether it’s land or sea. When a protected animal is killed, their offspring are left without one of their parents which can lead to them dying as well. George Wittenmeyer explains, “Poachers are now also targeting adult females, resulting in the loss of one or more in most families and leaving roughly one in five groups with no mature females. The number of orphans in the population is increasing rapidly.”
In the last year about 24,000 elephants have been killed. In Elephants, Ivory, and Trade Samuel Wasser explains, “Loss of keystone species like elephants impacts the integrity of ecosystems and their services,” (Wasser, 1).If each of those elephants had two babies which potentially means 72,000 elephants have actually been killed as a direct result of poaching. In addition to affecting the animal’s offspring, poaching of a species can lead to complete extinction. When a species becomes extinct, it changes the entire food chain in the ecosystem. If plankton were to become extinct, salmon would have to migrate and find something else to eat so then bears would have to migrate and eat other things. Poaching does not only affect the animal that is killed but also the other living creatures around it. The governments of the areas that are affected by poaching and organizations that are devoted to stopping the trading of ivory are the systems that need to take charge in order to stop the killing of harmless animals.
Today it is illegal to hunt any animal that does not have a season dedicated to it. The government has to issue harsher penalties for criminals who poach animals for their tusks. Without strict consequences for breaking these laws, more people will see that the benefits outweigh the risks. Daniel Cressey explains, “International treaties meant to protect elephants are not working. Researchers estimate that tens of thousands of African elephants are now being killed by poachers each year, from a total wild population of around 400,000.” Governments need to reverse this way of thinking. The main organization dedicated to stopping the poaching of animals for their tusks is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species or CITES. Members of CITES keep track of the population of protected animals throughout the world. They also document the number of these animals killed by poachers. According to statistical analysts at CITES, “Nearly 39,000 kilograms of illegal ivory were traded worldwide in 2011,” (which amounts to over 62 million dollars). Of the 39,000 kilograms that were collected approximately 55% was tusks from elephants. CITES reports, “between 3.5% and 11.7% of the total African elephant population was killed by poachers in 2011 — the worst year for illegal killing since the program began collecting data in
2002.”