Who causes the killing of elephants?

After years of a ban on harming elephants, the ban was lifted, the decision of the South African authorities to allow the "thinning" of elephants in the Kruger Reserve and at the same time approval was given for the sale of elephant tusks to the ivory market

After years of a ban on harming elephants, the ban was lifted, the decision of the South African authorities to allow the "thinning" of elephants in the Kruger Reserve and at the same time the approval of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to allow the sale of elephant tusks to the ivory market, Two parallel decisions in time and subject have opened the ivory market to growing demand and will accordingly increase the activity of killing elephants in Africa.

In the Virunga reserve in the Congo, 17 elephants were killed, from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Chad and other countries, there are reports of an increase in illegal "poaching". When there is a demand, there will be someone to provide the supply. When we open an official opening for the supply and sale of ivory, there will be those who will succeed in entering the opening and selling ivory from elephants killed in reserves and large areas.

The ban on trade in ivory derived from elephant tusks is according to an international convention. Until today, it was allowed to trade in ivory items only when their antiquity was proven, that is, when they were more than a hundred years old. When the trade is permitted, the traders must have documents confirming that the ivory is of legal origin, and all legal ivory is also marked and tagged so that it can be identified. But despite the labeling and supervision, it is not difficult for criminals to trade ivory cut from murdered elephants - contrary to regulations and laws.

Until today we knew that the big market for ivory objects is in Southeast Asia and especially China, now it turns out that a large part of the processed ivory finds its way to luxury stores in the USA, despite the fact that the USA is a signatory to the art to prevent the trade, what's more there are domestic laws ( in the USA) which are supposed to prevent ivory trade. For example: every ivory dealer must have permission from the Ministry of the Interior, but every bar-by-rab is allowed to bring ivory into the US as a "prize" from a poacher. Another law does not allow the import or export of ivory from countries where there are no elephants...? Most of the ivory is imported from China and Japan! Since the trade in "antique" ivory is allowed and the traders declare the antiquity of the products, the survey revealed that the majority (70%) of the products on the market... are less than twenty years old.

In 2006-2007, a market survey was conducted by conservation and environmental groups such as the British-based conservation group Care for the Wild International (CWI); Humane Society of the United States; Save the Elephants; John Aspinall Foundation. According to the survey, it turns out that the USA is the largest ivory market in the world after China. Ivory objects are sold openly in shops, and there is no fuss.

The improvement of the economic situation of millions of Chinese contributes to a rising demand for quality products, ivory products are considered prestigious and thus the improvement of the Chinese economy leads to the killing of elephants. The American economy is not at its best, but there is always a demand for something different, more expensive, foreign and strange, and this demand places the US in second place in the ivory market, in second place in the urge to kill elephants

It will be said that the use of ivory objects in the East is anchored in a centuries-old tradition, the purchase of ivory in the US is "anchored" in the "culture" of consumption.

The time has come that instead of controlling the environment for the sake of the human population, there will be control of the human population for the sake of the environment.