The US is stepping up efforts to crush an illegal trade that has brought wild elephants to the brink of extinction. According to interior secretary, Sally Jewell, rising demand for ivory is fuelling a renewed and horrific slaughter of elephants in Africa, threatening remaining populations across the continent. Wildlife trafficking has doubled over the past five years into a global trade worth $10bn. Poaching of elephants had risen by a factor of eight in Tanzania and the killing of rhinos for their horns had gone up by a factor of 50. The public destruction of the ivory is scheduled to take place on 8 October. A number of other countries – including the Philippines – have also destroyed their stocks of seized ivory. The Philippines crushed 15m tons of seized ivory beneath industrial rollers earlier this year.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 07:11:31 +0000
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