Is the United States doing enough to save the elephants?
By Jamie Joseph
Making headlines around the world on 29 May was China’s breakthrough announcement promising the world that they “will strictly control ivory processing and trade until the commercial processing and sale of ivory and its products are eventually halted.”
I published a follow up article a few days later, and it wasn’t well received by a couple of dedicated grassroots American wildlife activists. They felt my article painted an unfair picture of American society in relation to the ivory trade.
Read: In the race to save the elephants from extinction will the United States or China Step up first?
Global March for Elephants & Rhinos is a dedicated grassroots movement with thousands of people all over the world gearing up to march for justice in the second ever annual walk which will be held on 3 & 4 October this year. Using media as a force for good, celebrity activists that include Leonardo Dicaprio, Kristin Davis, Bo Derek, Glenn Close and Billy Joel are all rooting for the elephants. But is this enough to turn the tide on the illegal trade of ivory in the US?
No, I don’t think it is. But it’s a damn good start. This past year I have spent countless hours reporting on China’s illicit trade in ivory, and now that we have crossed a major milestone it’s time to turn the attention to other consumer countries. And Japan is next on the list.
It is also encouraging to read this story by Elephants DC, Is Ivory Trading Legal In Your State?
While approximately 20 US states are taking action to end the ivory trade in their states, some are further along than others in the process. A few of them have key hearings this week. Read the summary of states taking action to end ivory trade thus far in 2015.
Photo credit: Robyn Preston
Earlier this year I interviewed Eric Olander, co-founder of the acclaimed China Africa Project, and published a story: Africa, made by China. This week on the China-Africa podcast Eric and his co-host Cobus van Staden, searching for clarity on the ivory trade, interviewed Peter LaFontaine, Campaign Officer at International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
There are some fresh perspectives in this podcast and well worth the 28 minutes of listening time. A few quoted noise bytes below, and listen to the full podcast here.
“Nothing that comes out of the Chinese administration is unscripted. This (ivory trade issue) was something that had been kicked around behind the scenes, and is at least some indication that there is going to be a policy change. On the other hand you have to look at the things that were left out…” -Peter LaFontaine, IFAW Campaign Officer
“It’s not as if American diplomacy is solving the problems in China. This is really a home grown opposition to ivory consumption. It is a success, if it comes, that will be almost entirely on the basis of the work that those folks over there have done. We’re happy to be allies to them. …but it’s a two way street. When China does something like make this announcement then it’s time for the US to act. It’s not that the US needs to lead on everything, sometimes if China steps up, we have some important lessons to learn as well.” -Peter LaFontaine, IFAW Campaign Officer
“Fortunately, and take this with a grain of salt, because we’ve seen this progress dragging out a bit too long, but the US Fish & Wildlife service has started to take some incredibly important steps towards controlling our domestic trade. They have already stopped imports and exports of all ivory. They have started to create a rule that would make it much tougher to buy and sell ivory in the United States. And New York and New Jersey have banned the ivory trade within their state borders. I think more of that is necessary. It really is about taking an inward look and seeing what we (United States) can do to help protect these species.” -Peter LaFontaine, IFAW Campaign Officer
“I think, if I were to guess, that most Americans don’t even have the association between ivory and elephants. I think that they see it as a material that has an exotic value, like ebony, that is completely divorced from this animal that is walking around the savannah.” -Peter LaFontaine, IFAW Campaign Officer
Now this last statement actually did surprise me, and I’m keen to hear public opinion from people living in America. Not including elephant activists obviously, do people you know associate ivory craft and jewellery with dead elephants, or do they see it as a type of material? Are your friends properly informed about the poaching crisis?
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