20,000 elephants die each year from the illegal ivory trade

Near 20,000 specimens of elephants die each year due to ivory smuggling, representing an average of 54 per day, As announced by conservation organization WWF on the occasion of World Elephant Day celebrations on Friday, August 12. Spain also plays a sad role in this environmental tragedy, as it is one of the biggest gateways for illegal ivory to Europe.

While the creature in question can live for up to 60 years in the wild, it warns that “human greed has turned the elephant into a defenseless creature that dies young” if not timely action is taken. this type can disappear “forever”.

By asset, about 90% of forest elephants classified as ‘critically endangered’ died and 60% of Savannah elephants have disappeared in the last half century.

Elephant hunted for its tusks jannegoodall.com


He also points out that the Asian elephant already has under 40,000 copies and is ‘endangered’ along with the savanna elephant. These three elephant species are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.

They were born without teeth to survive

Similarly, they point out that the pressure of ivory fever is very high. in Mozambique females are born without teeth to survive and poachers are now hunting regardless of the age of the animal, something that has killed 90% of elephants in the Selous Conservation Area (Tanzania).

Likewise, the organization states that in addition to ivory, another of its threats is the destruction of its habitat due to agriculture, livestock and deforestation.

For 60 years, WWF has protected these animals’ nests in all countries. creation of reserves, ecological corridors, installation of GPS collars and installation of cameras to know their needs and to monitor their movements.

Likewise, the organization, with the help of the guards, is committed to combating elephant smuggling, working with governments to toughen the prosecution of this crime and ban its consumption, as in China. will be sold. ivory for six years.

African elephant specimens agencies


However, they remember that “there are still a lot of illegal markets to shut down and a lot to do, so we shouldn’t let our guard down”.

Spain is the gateway to Europe for illegal ivory

“There is still illegal hunting and there are quite a few seizures as it is in Spain. An important country and hotspot for species and ivory smuggling due to its strategic location in the transition between Africa and Asia”, explains WWF Spain’s Endangered Species Program technician Laura Moreno to Efe.

Ivory smuggling is illegal since the entry into force of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and that’s why “There are still cases of ivory seizures in Spain,” said the WWF technician. “Our authorities have important duties in the follow-up, detection, prevention and training of those who fight against it”.

According to the WWF, The mafias act as a powerful criminal network that helps finance paramilitary guerrillas or terrorist groups.and traffic in their teeth, skins and meat for their own consumption.

WWF Spain works through the European project LIFE Scroll To educate all those fighting against environmental crime in partnership with organizations from 11 other European countries and border cooperation The organization endorsed the toughening of criminal persecution by governments to ban its consumption, among different actors, although “there are still many illegal markets to be closed”.

numbers are falling

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that in the 2010-2018 period, poaching killed more than 71,000 elephants in South Africa, more than 58,000 in East Africa, and about 27,800 in Central Africa.

Data from Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Registered at CITES -September 2020- between 2003 and end of 2019, 20,712 corpses The number of elephants in 30 range states in Africa totals 711 deaths per region, plus 328 of the 1,294 elephant carcasses reported in 2019 were illegally killed.

Seizure of teeth in Asia ef


According to Moreno, CITES are complex because there are often species included in different appendices with areas where “trade of game trophies for non-commercial purposes” is permitted for the income that later contributes to the conservation of that species. It is the case of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in areas such as South Africa or Zimbabwe.

However, according to these data “The downward trend in poaching continues in South and East Africa and shows signs of a downward trend in Central Africa.”From the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) “This is even more important. to protect elephants in the wild and finish to the ivory trade.

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Environment department contact address:[email protected]

Source: Informacion

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