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 Post subject: Ivory trade
PostPosted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 9:57 pm 
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The tragedy of the ivory trade will just continue to happen as long as there is a high demand for ivory from predominantly Asian countries, particularly China. A large factor driving the ivory trade in China is that ivory is considered “a sign of wealth and status” among the middle class and wealthy1. If this cultural perception cannot be changed then illegal killings of elephants will continue to occur unnecessarily. I understand that ivory does have a unique place in China’s history but that is no reason to perpetuate an illegal trade. “In the 1970’s to the 1980’s approximately 75,000 elephants were killed illegally each year, for ten years”2!
Not only is the reason for ivory very inadequate but the way elephants are killed is brutal too. They are shot in mass groups from the air without a chance to fight back3, “their food and water sources are poisoned, and they are even stoned to death”2. If the poacher is lazy the ivory is taken off with chainsaws that cut right through the elephants face.
Measures to protect elephants are complicated by the fact that CITES “only bans international trade of ivory and each country is left to deal with the ivory trade on its own”4. Since elephants are spread out all over Africa5, some countries have more elephant populations than others and this causes contention among countries about what the best methods are to protect elephants6.
A great model of how to deal with the problem of the ivory trade is what the Clinton Foundation is doing. They are using what they call a “three pronged approach” to this problem; “they plan to stop the killing, trafficking, and demand”. “They plan to do this with donated money that will help pay for more park guards and that will increase enforcement at ports. They also plan to crack down on illegal markets and make the fines for trafficking stiffer”. Lastly, and most important to me is that they will raise cultural awareness in key ivory importing nations about where and how this ivory is coming to them and what can be done to not support the illegal trade7.
Humans need to learn how to peacefully coexist with nature and not abuse it to the point of extinction. Our forefathers may not have realized the impact of what they did when they hunted the passenger pigeon, dodo, quagga, Tasmanian tiger, and other animals8 to extinction but people are definitely more aware about the effects of an entire species going extinct today and it would be beyond an abomination if another animal was added to that list, that could have been saved with tougher laws and more awareness of were that pretty new ivory necklace actually came from.
1. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2343137/Elephants-face-extinction-Beijing-does-ban-ivory-trade-China-accounts-nearly-half-40-000-killed-year-tusks.html
2. http://www.animal-rights-action.com/ivory-trade.html
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/world/africa/africas-elephants-are-being-slaughtered-in-poaching-frenzy.html
4. http://www.worldpolicy.org/journal/summer2013/rethinking-ivory-why-trade-in-tusks-won%27t-go-away
5. http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/elephants/african_elephants/index.cfm
6. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17675816
7. http://ens-newswire.com/2013/09/26/clinton-global-partners-commit-80m-to-save-africas-elephants/
8. http://www.neatorama.com/2011/02/02/7-animals-humans-brought-to-extinction/#!nts3a


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 Post subject: Re: Ivory trade
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 7:59 am 
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Animals and environment are being killed in thousands of ways today but the one and only root cause is industrialization.

Animals were killed in pre-industrial society too, but in very small numbers.

Demand for Ivory (and other animal parts and products) rose exponentially after Industrialization and Globalization.

International Trade in Ivory (and other animal parts and products) rose exponentially after Industrialization and Globalization.

Ivory trade is not the only cause of death of elephants..... Besides the Ivory Trade, elephants have also been killed due to decimation of forests by industrial activity.

Millions of animal species have been tortured, slaughtered and decimated by Industrialization/ Industrial Activity.

Millions of animal species have been tortured, slaughtered and decimated by Mining Industry, Logging Industry, Energy Generation Industry, Manufacturing Industry, Construction Industry and Transportation Industry.

The reality is that every citizen of Industrial Society is a Hunter/ Poacher/ Killer/ Murderer.

In Industrial Society millions of people are killing Nature directly…….Billions of people are killing Nature indirectly.

Every citizen of Industrial Society is a Serial Killer.....Serial Killer of nature.....Serial Killer of animals, trees, air, water and land.

Industrial Society has killed billions of farm animals in Slaughter Houses and billions of wild animals in forests with Industrial Activity for making consumer goods and services.....If we divide this number by total Industrial population we get per capita killing of animals.

Industrial Society has killed billions of Trees in forests with Industrial Activity for making consumer goods and services.....If we divide this number by total Industrial population we get per capita killing of Trees.

Industrial Activity has produced billions of tonnes of solid, liquid and gaseous Industrial Waste.....This waste has polluted and poisoned air, water and soil....Industrial Activity has produced billions of tonnes of Plastic Waste, Chemical Waste, Gaseous Waste, Metal Waste, eWaste and Nuclear Waste.....If we divide this number by total Industrial population we get per capita waste which is a measure of per capita killing of air, water and soil.

Industrial Society has killed billions of acres of Fertile Soil with Cement, Concrete and Asphalt.....If we divide this number by total Industrial population we get per capita killing of Fertile Soil.

Even those amongst us who are living very simple lives are still using at least some consumer goods and services whose production and use destroys nature directly or indirectly.

Every Citizen of Industrial Society is a serial killer of Nature….Those who produce consumer goods and services …….Those who sell consumer goods and services…….Those who buy consumer goods and services.
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100 years of relentless Industrial Activity has destroyed the entire planet.

Millions of other species have been decimated.....Forests have been decimated.....Fish in the oceans have been decimated.....Trillions of Farm Animals have been butchered in Industrial Slaughter Houses.....Oceans have been made acidic and warmer......There are oxygen deprived dead zones in the oceans.....Rivers, Oceans, Land and Atmosphere have been poisoned by billions of tonnes of Solid, Liquid and Gaseous Industrial Waste......The entire planet is littered with billions of tonnes of Plastic Waste, Chemical waste, Metal Waste, Gaseous Waste, eWaste and Nuclear waste......Millions of animals, birds and fish have died from ingesting plastic.....Billions of acres of agricultural land has been poisoned by millions of tonnes of Insecticides, Pesticides and Fertilizers.... Billions of acres of Fertile Soil has been killed by Cement, Concrete and Asphalt.....Weather has become extreme, irregular and unpredictable.....Wind speed has reduced by 50% in the last 50 years.....Glaciers have melted, Arctic Ice has melted.....Thousands of tonnes of Nuclear Material and Waste has been generated which will keep poisoning the planet with radioactivity for the next thousands of years.

In pre-industrial society animals and environment got saved automatically because very little environmental destruction was possible in the absence of Industrial Machines.

It is impossible to save animals and environment without stopping Industrial Activity.
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Industrialization was the biggest crime on earth.

Agrarian society was the limit for man on earth.

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