Kahumbu reports: "Seven African nations joined Hillary and Chelsea Clinton in a commitment to end the slaughter of elephants by banning domestic trade in ivory, stopping the killing of elephants, the trafficking of ivory, and the demand for ivory."
Park ranger Benjamin Kalimutima Lulimba finds the skull of an elephant killed for its ivory in the Ituri rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (photo: Francesca Tosarelli)
02 October 13
The plight of elephants is in the spotlight thanks to Hillary Clinton, the courts and the American public
frican elephants have been thrust into the global spotlight by four events in the US: the Clinton Global Initiative last week, the March for Elephants on 4 October, the sentencing of American ivory trafficker Victor Gordon on 7 October [update: this has been rescheduled to February 2014], and the crushing of 6 tons of US-held ivory in Denver on 8 October.
At the Clinton Global initiative, seven African nations joined Hillary and Chelsea Clinton in a commitment to end the slaughter of elephants by banning domestic trade in ivory, stopping the killing of elephants, the trafficking of ivory, and the demand for ivory. The countries were Botswana, Cote D'Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, South Sudan, Malawi and Uganda.
Richard Leakey, founder of WildlifeDirect and the man who is credited with saving elephants from extinction by engineering the first ever and most iconic bonfire of ivory in 1989, said:
"I congratulate Senator Clinton for her actions and commitment and am all for each nation taking responsibility for saving one of the world's most magnificent animals. I hope that the USA will follow Africa and ban domestic trade in ivory … and provide support for strategic African initiatives to save elephants and stop the poaching."
A study by WildlifeDirect reveals that fewer than 5% of convictions for wildlife crimes lead to jail sentences. Not surprisingly, suspected elephant killers and ivory traffickers plead guilty in order to hasten the case and gain a light sentence. Most cases last only 24 hours and most convictions result in a fine of $100-$300. The laxity of the courts had been driving impunity and encouraging poaching, but now the magistrates are delivering jail sentences of three to five years.
Any time in jail is bad in Kenya, but WildlifeDirect says this is still not enough and is pushing for seizure of assets, prosecution under the Organised crime Act and Economic Crimes Act, and minimum jail sentences of 15 years in proposed new legislation that is expected to pass in coming weeks.
Next up is the Elephant March. Millions of people are expected to participate on 4 October in cities around the world. This is one of the things that citizens around the world can do to demonstrate their concern about the elephant slaughter.
Later, the US Fish and Wildlife Service will make an international statement by crushing six tons of elephant ivory seized by its special agents and wildlife inspectors for violations of US wildlife laws.
All this attention to elephants is well-deserved. Ivory is leaving Africa at an unprecedented rate, part of a surge in poaching that could lead to the extinction of the elephant within 10 years if it is not halted. But it isn't just about elephants.
The illegal trade in ivory is fueling conflicts and terrorism including the deadly attacks on a shopping mall in Kenya, and the US is not exempt from the problem.
Ironically ivory trade is permitted in the US and while it involves mostly old pre-ban ivory, like the situation in China, the legal trade is being used as a cover for a significant amount of illegal trade. Although China is ranked as the top consumer of illegal ivory, the US is considered the second largest market in the world.
The ivory crush will include ivory items seized last year when the US Fish and Wildlife Service seized more than $2m worth of ivory from two New York City shops. Dan Stiles writes in Swara Magazine that New York and San Francisco "appear to be gateway cities for illegal ivory import in the USA … China is not the only culprit promoting elephant poaching through its illegal ivory markets. The USA is right there with them."
Finally, we have the case of a Philadelphia-based ivory smuggler, Victor Gordon, who was arrested in connection with one of the largest US seizures of illegally imported ivory in July 2011. More than one ton of elephant ivory was seized. He pleaded guilty on 27 September 2012 and faces up to 20 years in prison.
His lawyer, Daniel-Paul Alva, told the Wall Street Journal his client has been co-operating with the investigation, and was "an innocent dupe". He has already managed to postpone his sentencing for more than a year. This would be unthinkable in Africa.
