
China calls on US to follow its lead in eradicating ivory trade - adamnemecek
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/09/china-us-eradicate-ivory-trade#
======
adamnemecek
Currently, a lot of states are considering banning sales of ivory. If you want
to get involved, please consider contacting your representatives and voicing
your support for these bans.

Over at /r/babyelephantgifs, we made a post which should explain everything
that you need to know and which also includes a template that you can use when
contacting your representatives

[https://www.reddit.com/r/babyelephantgifs/comments/338f7t/co...](https://www.reddit.com/r/babyelephantgifs/comments/338f7t/contact_your_state_representatives_about_current/)

The situation is dire. At the current rate of poaching, elephants will be
extinct in the next 10-15 years. Even though China is currently the biggest
consumer of illegal ivory, the US is in second place.

You guys should also consider donating to the International Anti-Poaching
Foundation[0][1] which fights the poachers. The founder, Damien Mander[2], is
an Australian ex spec-ops sniper who is using his military experience to train
the park rangers since they, unlike the poachers, tend to be poorly equipped
and trained as well as understaffed.

There is also the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust[3][4] which takes care of
elephant and rhino orphans (most of whom are orphans due to poaching). For $50
a year, you can become a sponsor of a particular animal and they'll send you
photos and updates about how your sponsored animal is doing. You can for
example sponsor this little girl [5][6] who was rescued[7] just the other day.
This sponsorship is a pretty great gift.

[0] [http://www.iapf.org/en/](http://www.iapf.org/en/)

[1] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Anti-
Poaching_Fo...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Anti-
Poaching_Foundation)

[2]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Mander](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Mander)

[3]
[http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org](http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org)

[4]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sheldrick_Wildlife_Trust](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sheldrick_Wildlife_Trust)

[5]
[http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp...](http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp?N=335)

[6] [https://instagram.com/p/3tgs8CgUJd/](https://instagram.com/p/3tgs8CgUJd/)

[7]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHRosmdsoW0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHRosmdsoW0)

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sehugg
I'm surprised by the things that are still quasi-legal in the States, for
example the consumption of lion meat of dubious origin:

[http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/23/smallbusiness/world_cup_lion...](http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/23/smallbusiness/world_cup_lion_burger/index.htm)

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buckbova
Is this even a problem in the states? Only I've ever seen is faux-ivory.

"The United States is the second-largest market globally for illegal wildlife
products after China, and it still allows trade in ivory acquired before a
worldwide ban in 1989."

This doesn't seem like an issue to me.

~~~
ekanes
A clearer way to send a message or take a stand is to be absolute. "No ivory
sold here" is stronger and clearer than "Some ivory is fine, depending on how
old it is"

~~~
peapicker
So my 1920's piano would then be illegal to sell, just because it has ivory on
the keys?

~~~
Phlarp
If so, there have to be better ways to fight poaching.

Why not legalize it? Given how large the current black market is "farming"
ivory has to be a viable enterprise at some level. Cows aren't going extinct
anytime soon, why can't the same market force apply to elephants and rhinos?

~~~
adamnemecek
> If so, there have to be better ways to fight poaching.

Better than banning the sales? How is legalizing it better? Because some
people would be able to resell their old piano? You have a pretty dumb
definition of better.

> Why not legalize it?

The current poaching epidemic is due to relaxation of CITES restriction of
ivory trade in 2008 (I think). The poaching issues wasn't as bad until then.
So "legalization" is what got us here in the first place.

> Given how large the current black market is "farming" ivory has to be a
> viable enterprise at some level.

Right, let's inflict pain and suffering on an entires species of extremely
intelligent creatures so that we can keep making some shitty trinkets.

Besides the ethical issues, it's also unlikely to be viable economically. It
takes a while for an elephant to grow tusks (as in decades).

> Cows aren't going extinct anytime soon, why can't the same market force
> apply to elephants and rhinos?

Domesticated cows might not, but their wild ancestors went extinct some 400
years ago
([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs)).
What this would do is make the market for ivory even bigger and there wouldn't
be anything preventing poachers from hunting wild elephants to extinction. If
anything, it would make the extinction even faster.

You aren't the first person to suggest this idea but it's extremely stupid
regardless. As in, I cannot understand how anyone would think that this is a
better idea than banning sales of ivory.

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bmm6o
The Daily Show had a segment on this a few months ago. IIRC there was a bill
in Congress to stop the ivory trade in the US and it had wide support until
the NRA spun it as an infringement of your gun rights, because you need to
buy/sell/own ivory-handled pistols. Then it was predictably killed.

~~~
adamnemecek
It wasn't killed. The bills are still being discussed.

~~~
bmm6o
Right, maybe "killed" isn't the right term, but the impression I got was that
it lost the support needed to pass.

