Thailand Vows To Enforce Stop on Trading Ivory, Saving Both Domestic and Foreign Elephants

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose country has one of the world’s biggest markets of unregulated ivory, has pledged to begin a legislative process to end the trade within the country’s borders.

Seizures of ivory from illegal trade. Photo courtesy of nature.com.

The pledge was made as part of her remarks last week at an international wildlife trade meeting – the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Bangkok.

The issue has reached a critical point in Thailand. Janpai Ongsiriwittaya, Illegal Wildlife Trade campaign leader for World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-Thailand, said that, “Perhaps as few as only 2,500 wild elephants are left in Thailand. That’s as many elephants as were wiped out each month in Africa in 2012 to fuel demand for ivory trinkets.”

“Ongsiriwittaya further explained that, “The sale of ivory from wild elephants is currently illegal for CITES-host Thailand, but the sale of ivory from Thai domestic elephants is legal. Determining whether ivory products are derived from wild elephants or domestic animals is extremely difficult, and enforcement agencies are currently unable to detect illegal ivory entering the Thai trade.”

The WWF says that, “Currently, Thai law permits the sale of ivory from domestic elephants, resulting in a major loophole that allows for massive quantities of illegal African ivory to be sold alongside the domestic ivory in Thailand shops.”

The Thai prime minister’s pledge to end the ivory trade in country came after mounting public pressure from a petition campaign by the WWF and the social activist group Avaaz.

The WWF says that so far “1.4 million voices from 227 countries and territories” have signed the petition. So far though, Shinawatra hasn’t given a timeline for when the ban will take place.

“Thailand is the world’s largest unregulated ivory market and a major sink for ivory from Africa. A large percentage of Thailand’s ivory is bought by foreign tourists, but there is a significant demand among devout Buddhists for ivory carved images of the Buddha, amulets, and other objects of worship,” adds the WWF.

Despite a global CITES ban on international sales of ivory since 1990, tens of thousands of elephants are killed to meet a growing demand for ivory products in the Far East.

“Asia stands behind a steadily increasing trend in illegal ivory and there are still thriving domestic ivory markets in Africa. 2011 saw the highest volume of illegal ivory seized since global records began in 1989,” continued the WWF.

An analysis by TRAFFIC (a strategic alliance between the WWF and the International Union for Conservation of Nature) found that in 2011 alone, there were 17 large-scale ivory seizures which were more than double the previous highest figure of eight large-scale seizures in 2009. Complete figures still aren’t in for 2012.

Large-scale ivory seizures (those involving at least 800kg of ivory in a single transaction) typically indicate the participation of organized crime.

This week, eight countries – China, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda – meeting at CITES announced that they are developing action plans to address the illegal flow of ivory along the trade chain.

In attempts by smugglers to avoid detection, TRAFFIC has found that smugglers have shifted trade patterns to Indian Ocean seaports.

“With unprecedented frequency, large-scale ivory shipments have either been seized in Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania or exited Africa through ports in those countries, which have rapidly emerged as the two most prominent countries connecting African ivory with Asian demand. South Africa is also a country of concern for large flows of ivory,” TRAFFIC reported.

TRAFFIC also found that, “Ivory traffickers appear to be targeting Malaysia, along with the Philippines, Hong Kong SAR, and Vietnam as key transit points along the smuggling chain.”

At CITES this week, as part of an effort to better monitor and track illegal activities, governments agreed “that all ivory seizures of more than 500kg in weight will be forensically examined …because of the invaluable intelligence they can provide into the origins of the ivory in question and the possible insights into those behind the smuggling.”

From an ecological standpoint, the WWF explains why elephants matter and their populations need to be preserved (besides the fact they are beautiful intelligent creatures).

The WWF explains that, “Elephants directly influence forest composition and density, and can alter the broader landscape. In tropical forests, elephants create clearings and gaps in the canopy that encourage tree regeneration. In the savanna, they reduce bush cover to create an environment favorable to a mix of browsing and grazing animals.

“The seeds of many plant species are dependent on passing through an elephant’s digestive tract before they can germinate. It is calculated that at least a third of tree species in central African forests rely on elephants in this way for distribution of seeds.”

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