

GPS Trackers in Fake Elephant Tusks Reveal Ivory Smuggling Route - merah
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/08/12/431908397/gps-trackers-in-fake-elephant-tusks-reveal-ivory-smuggling-route

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adamnemecek
If you live in Washington state and would like to do something about
preventing further poaching, please vote Yes on Initiative-1401 which will be
on the state ballot in this fall [0].

Furthermore, anyone can donate for example to the International Anti-Poaching
Foundation[1][2] which fights these poachers. The founder, Damien Mander[3],
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[4][5] which takes care of
elephant and rhino orphans (most of them are orphans due to poaching). For $50
a year, you can become a sponsor of a particular orphan and they'll send you
photos and updates about how your sponsored orphan is doing. I've been giving
these out as gifts with good successes. You can for example sponsor this
little fella [6].

[0]
[http://saveanimalsfacingextinction.org/](http://saveanimalsfacingextinction.org/)

[1] [http://www.iapf.org/](http://www.iapf.org/)

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

[3]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Mander](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Mander)

[4]
[http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org](http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org)

[5]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sheldrick_Wildlife_Trust](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sheldrick_Wildlife_Trust)

[6]
[https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.as...](https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp?N=337)

~~~
techsupporter
I can't vote for I-1401 and it's not because I am in favor of the trafficking
of endangered animal parts. The initiative is fatally flawed, in my opinion,
because it creates _yet another_ crime that is punishable with time in jail
but has no elements of intent or willfulness. Just like the absurdity of
finding a bald eagle feather on the ground and, not knowing what it is, taking
it home and using it in a mural that is later "sold or distributed" then being
convicted of trafficking in part of an endangered species, I-1401 continues
and broadens that trend.

If only the new section 3, paragraph 1 had read: "...for a person, _who knew
or reasonably should have known that the animal source is a covered animal
species_ , to sell, offer to sell..."

Until then, I'm not willing to give license to criminalize any more accidental
or unknowing behavior, _especially_ not with jail time and a mandatory minimum
penalty of TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS, which is four-freaking-times the total market
value needed to be convicted of "unlawful trafficking in the second degree."
(Section 3, paragraph (4)(a).)

~~~
tim333
Also in terms of ivory it won't achieve much if the bulk of the demand is from
China and similar places. Though I guess it might set an example for Asian
countries to pass similar laws.

~~~
adamnemecek
The US is the second largest consumer of ivory in the world. Illegal ivory
comes to the US through China so by banning it in the US, you are actually
reducing demand in China as well.

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flashman
Check out the National Geographic article with much more detail:
[http://www.nationalgeographic.com/tracking-
ivory/article.htm...](http://www.nationalgeographic.com/tracking-
ivory/article.html)

There's an interactive map too: [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/tracking-
ivory/map.html](http://www.nationalgeographic.com/tracking-ivory/map.html)

~~~
dmix
Wow this is a much better version of the story. Thanks

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prawn
Is there a way of reaching future generations of Chinese effectively? A lot of
Chinese antiques are, to my eye, quite gauche. Are they still status symbols
for the new, rising middle class?

I believe Yao Ming has done some work raising awareness around the ivory
trade. Any other revered Chinese celebrities?

~~~
hunglee2
Yao has been great for conservation - I think that's his project now -
attempting to change cultural values via the power of his celebrity.
Considering how big China is, any progress Yao makes will have global impact.
We got to support him!

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userbinator
A GPS tracker becomes useless if it can't see any satellites; having worked
with GPS before and seeing how effective even a thin layer of metal can
attenuate the signal significantly, I'm curious as to how they were able to
make this work. It seems highly unlikely that someone smuggling a tusk would
leave it in clear view of the sky.

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steveax
The full story details some of the tech. It was pretty well thought out. IIRC,
the device communicated periodically via sat phone and would cache geodata so
that if the sat phone ping failed, it could transmit previous location.

~~~
Maxious
Iridium device locations can also be requested from the network based on what
satellite/beam communicated through which is "accurate to within 10Km 80% of
the time"

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JumpCrisscross
Is there an ethical issue with flooding the market with replica ivory? It
would at least raise transaction costs and risks for poachers and their supply
chains.

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cbd1984
> Is there an ethical issue with flooding the market with replica ivory?

It might lead to people being killed for knowingly or unknowingly passing off
fake ivory as the real thing.

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coldtea
Doesn't sound like these people matter anyway. It's like saying "might lead to
druglords being killed".

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cryptophreak
The drug war should already have taught us that it's counterproductive to view
offenders as generic nuisances rather than people to be negotiated with.

The ivory trade, like the drug trade, is entrenched. There are a lot of people
involved. There’s a large, complex, long-standing, and covert structure to
deal with. As law enforcement has so clearly demonstrated, you can’t solve
behavioral problems at scale with contempt and violence.

The really thorny problems in the world won’t be beaten into submission. To
negotiate our way out of this problem, it’s necessary to see the offenders as
real, valuable human beings.

~~~
littletimmy
Is the life of an African smuggler or Chinese merchant really more valuable
than the life of an elephant? 500,000 elephants, 1 Billion Africans, 1.5
Billion Chinese. It is clear who we should be saving.

~~~
PhasmaFelis
You really should stop thinking of people who do a bad thing as abstract, one-
dimensional monsters. Poachers and smugglers aren't smirking Captain Planet
villains; many of them are thugs, but many of them are men with wives,
children, elderly parents, trying to make ends meet in a desperately poor part
of the world.

What they're doing is harmful and needs to be stopped; sometimes violence may
sadly be necessary to protect elephant and human lives. That doesn't mean that
the life of a mere courier is worthless and can be thoughtlessly discarded.

~~~
littletimmy
I never meant to say that the life of a courier is worthless. I do apologize
if it came across that way. I just meant to say that the life of an elephant
is worth more.

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barsonme
While I read the article, I'm currently unable to listen to either the npr or
nat geo articles.

Could anybody elaborate on how they pass off the fake tusks to the smugglers?
Do they, for lack of a better word, install the tusks on the elephants and
wait for the elephants to be poached or do they sell the tusks to the
smugglers so the smugglers can flip the tusks?

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sosuke
My first guess would be flipping a caught smuggler, or an undercover agent at
some level. I imagine they have to use a real tusk, though I couldn't listen
to it right now either.

~~~
CapitalistCartr
I listened to the interview on the radio; it was two fake tusks he had
carefully made, good enough to get him arrested at the airport there.

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annnnd
Note the transcript of the interview:
[http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?story...](http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=431908397)

