I grew up in New York City and can attest to its vibrant and exciting atmosphere. But, never in my wildest dreams as a kid did I imagine being present while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service poured a ton of confiscated elephant ivory into a rock crusher in the middle of Times Square in its second significant public demonstration against the international ivory trade.[teaserbreak]
Today’s crush follows not long after the recent one in Denver, Colorado, where some 6.5 tons were pulverized in the same manner. Any destruction of seized wildlife contraband—whether here, or in Africa, or Asia, or Europe—should serve as a powerful reminder that only elephants should wear ivory and that there’s no room in the world for commercialization of these wildlife products.
In some respects, today’s crush was awesome. It was awe-inspiring to see so many people come together for this single message of wildlife conservation. But, I was also awestruck at each piece of ivory loaded on the conveyor belt for its final demise. Each of those pieces represented a strong bull elephant roaming alone in the savannah of Africa. It represented mothers, grandmothers, daughters, granddaughters, aunts, and cousins, all living together in their matriarchal society for decade after decade. Each of those pieces represented the loss of one of those animal’s lives, unceremoniously, and for little more than commercial greed: the desire for an ivory bracelet, a piano key, or chopsticks.
Crushed IvoryWhile international trade in elephant ivory is undoubtedly despicable and Born Free is supportive of every attempt to raise awareness of these precious animals’ plight, we must remain equally aware of the other wild animals slaughtered where they live to supply this nefarious trade. Black and white rhinos across Africa number fewer than 25,000. They are killed for their horns, used in folk remedies and false cures in countries like Vietnam. Lions numbering perhaps 30,000 are slaughtered as trophies for their bones or their skins. Tigers—fewer than 4,000 left in all of Asia—continue to be slaughtered in the wild in India, poached for their bones, teeth, skins, and internal organs, while wealthy businessmen in China continue to breed these majestic animals in the hopes of the international market for tiger parts opening again.
Today’s message is a sound one: no commercial trade in ivory; destroy all seized ivory and keep it out of the marketplace forever. But, the message must reverberate beyond New York City, beyond the United States, and beyond elephants. We must all come together—no matter what species we fight for or where we do the fighting—to keep wildlife in the wild.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Adam