UN Forum held in Geneva to combat poaching - saving the elephant and the
rhinoceros from extinction because they are being hunted indiscriminately for
their tusks and their horns. Ivory fetches a pretty penny as an ornament on
Western and Middle Eastern shelves while there is an absurd notion in the East
that rhino horn is an aphrodisiac.
A UN Forum is being held in Geneva to combat poaching - saving the elephant
and the rhinoceros from extinction because they are being hunted
indiscriminately for their tusks and their horns. Ivory fetches a pretty penny
as an ornament on western and Middle Eastern shelves while there is an absurd
notion in the East that rhino horn is an aphrodisiac, which speaks volumes for
the stupidity and lack of masculinity among those who think they have to take it
to "perform".
The increase of elephant and rhino kills is among a number of topics being
discussed in the Forum this week meeting in Geneva, more specifically CITES -
the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which has 175 member countries, overseeing the
implementation of rules on international trade in protected wildlife
species.
Elephant kills rising, demand for rhino horn exploding
The CITES secretariat has issues a news release which points towards rising
levels in the killing of elephants and an explosion in demand for rhinoceros
horn, The Chairman of the Committee, Øysten Størkersen, stated that "With
elephant and rhino poaching and smuggling levels being the worst in a decade, it
is clear that strong additional measures are required."
"The present meeting will help set the priorities and to ensure the long-term
survival of key species we would like to leave to future generations," he
added.
Elephant kills are at their highest level in a decade and seizures of ivory
stocks are at the highest level since 1989. John E. Scanlon, Secretary-General
of CITES, stated recently that policy should not stop at seizures: "We need to
enhance our collective efforts across range, transit and consumer states to
reverse the current disturbing trends in elephant poaching and ivory
smuggling...While being essential, enforcement efforts to stop wildlife crime
must not just result in seizures - they must result in prosecutions, convictions
and strong penalties to stop the flow of contraband," he added. "The whole
'enforcement chain' must work together."
Date from Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) indicates that "three of
the five years in which the greatest volumes of ivory were seized globally
occurred in 2009, 2010 and 2011. In 2011 alone, there were 14 large-scale ivory
seizures - a double-digit figure for the first time in 23 years, when ETIS
records were first compiled. They totalled an estimated 24.3 tonnes of ivory,
more than in any previous year".
Large-scale seizures of ivory indicate the involvement of organised crime and
according to CITES, "The sources of information have shown a very close
correspondence between trends in elephant poaching and trends in large-scale
ivory seizures, detecting essentially the same patterns at different points in
the illegal ivory trade chain".
Other topics on the agenda are the illegal trade in freshwater turtles and
tortoises, frogs and plants from Madagascar, tiger conservation, the trade in
great apes and Asian snakes used in the leather industry.
CITES regulates international trade in close to 35,000 species of plants and
animals, including their products and derivatives, ensuring their survival in
the wild with benefits for the livelihoods of local people and the global
environment. (*)
Despite increased efforts by African and Asian countries to halt this demonic
and immoral practice, as we can see, the trends are rising, not decreasing.
Anyone with a piece of ivory in their homes should be disgusted with themselves.
As for those who sponsor the killing of rhinos, I know perfectly well what I
would do with the horn, only maybe they'd like it...
(*) UNO
Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
Pravda.Ru
Source link:
http://english.pravda.ru/science/earth/27-07-2012/121763-poaching_rhino-0/
