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IVORY

Elephant tusks are distinctive because they are actually enlarged incisor teeth. Most other tusked mammals have formed them from canine teeth. One third of an elephant's tusk is a pulp cavity full of blood and nerves embedded in the cranium. The visible tusk is composed of mostly dentine with an outer layer of enamel. This dentine is the ivory that we know so well. Viewing a cross section, one can see, with the naked eye, a diamond shaped pattern formed by a number of intersecting lines. This pattern is only found in elephant ivory and is why many purists say the only "true" ivory is elephant ivory.

Ivory has been called "white gold" by man and its price has indeed approached and surpassed gold's at times. These tusks of ivory and the lust for them has proven to be the undoing of many since the only practical method of harvesting the ivory is killing the elephant.

In 1989 the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) banned elephant ivory trade. But the elephant populations are still dwindling due to poaching and shrinking habitat. One view is if the ban was lifted, then the elephant would become more valuable as a resource to be protected and nurtured. Can ivory be the elephant's salvation? It seems unlikely.

The three following articles reprinted with permission from the
Animal News Center paint a bleak picture for the elephant and its ivory.

Ivory Stash Seized in Tanzania

by David Milner

A stash of more than 1,250 tusks taken from poached elephants was recently discovered in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Two local residents were arrested during the seizure of the tusks by police.

"The discovery of these tusks represents the death of hundreds of elephants," said Jason Bell, International Fund for Animal Welfare Regional Director for Southern Africa. "It should serve to shake many nations out of their complacent belief that Africa's elephants will ever be safe from indiscriminate slaughter."

Before the incident took place, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia indicated that they would vote in favor of a relaxation of trade restrictions that apply to ivory and other products made from elephants at the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species to be held in November 2002.

"Despite trade in ivory being illegal since 1990, the world continues to see the seizure of illegal hauls," said Bell. "The black market demand for ivory is insatiable, and opening up a legal trade will only provide a cover and a market for illegal ivory products and encourage the poaching of elephants."

Elephant hunting is currently legal only under certain circumstances in Tanzania. The practice is banned outright in the neighboring countries of Kenya and Uganda.

© 2002 Animal News Center, Inc.

Ivory Shipment Seized in China

by Sherry Morse

Chinese officials recently seized an illegal consignment of three tons of ivory shipped from Kenya.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) confirmed that the ivory, which had been concealed in containers labeled "wood board," was sent from Mombassa.

"Over 16 tons of African ivory have been seized ( mostly in Asia ) this year," said KWS Director Joseph Kioko. "This is a dramatic increase since last year and the volumes of ivory in trade are much larger than before. It is clear that the illegal trade is increasing."

The increase is being attributed to a call by South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia for the ivory trade to be made legal at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 12th Conference of the Parties, which is going to be held in Santiago, Chile from November 3rd to 15th.

"The information on the (Chinese) seizure should be taken very seriously by the CITES Secretariat and the (delegates attending) the 12th Conference of the Parties," said Michael Wamithi, International Fund for Animal Welfare Regional Director for East Africa. "Such seizures exemplify the serious challenges that wildlife law enforcement authorities are confronted with in their endeavors to control or prevent the illegal trade in wildlife products such as ivory across international borders."

KWS officials are currently trying to determine where the ivory sent to China originated and why it was not seized before being shipped overseas.

© 2002 Animal News Center, Inc.

Ivory Stockpile Sales Approved

by David Milner

Delegates at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) conference currently being held in Santiago, Chile have voted to allow one-time ivory stockpile sales to take place after April 2004.

The government of South Africa was granted permission to allow sales of approximately 66,000 tons of ivory, the government of Botswana received permission to allow sales of about 44,000 tons and the Namibian government obtained permission to allow sales of slightly more than 22,000 tons.

"That CITES has allowed South Africa, Botswana and Namibia to trade in 60,000 kilograms of ivory is a death warrant for thousands of elephants across Africa and Asia which will now be targeted by well-organized poaching gangs to feed the increased demand that will be created for illegal ivory," said International Fund for Animal Welfare Regional Director for Southern Africa Jason Bell.

The proposals for the sales, which originally included clauses calling for annual quotas to be established, were approved by slightly more than the two-thirds majority required.

"Parties to CITES that voted in favor of these stockpile sales must now step forward and assume the financial responsibilities that these sales will create for range states in Central and West Africa, and countries such as Kenya, (which) will need to increase their anti-poaching and enforcement capacities to battle the increased demand that will be created for illegal ivory from poached elephants," Bell stated.

"The ivory trade has proven disastrous to elephant populations in the past," said Fund for Animals Director of International and Government Affairs Christine Wolf. "Herd numbers were cut in half from poaching in the 1970s and 1980s. Since the populations haven't had time to recover, this renewed trade will likely decimate what remains of (them)."

© 2002 Animal News Center, Inc.