Washington, D.C. — Born Free USA, a global leader in animal welfare and wildlife conservation, will be one of several groups testifying in support of a bill to ban the sale of ivory and rhino horn in Massachusetts on Wednesday, October 21. House Bill 1275, introduced by Representative Lori Ehrlich, will be heard in the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.[teaserbreak]
This important legislation would restrict commerce in ivory and rhino horn throughout the state. Illegal trafficking of these wildlife products is directly responsible for shocking declines in wild populations in recent years, and this bill is a crucial step toward reducing the target market.
According to Adam M. Roberts, CEO of Born Free USA and the Born Free Foundation, “Massachusetts has the opportunity to be a powerful leader on these issues. This bill is of particular importance because Boston’s port, like any entry point to the U.S., is a site where wildlife parts can be smuggled into the country and laundered as legal products. The elephant poaching epidemic across Africa has reached crisis levels and rhino poaching is escalating exponentially, so we have no time to waste in enacting legislation.”
The crisis has become increasingly severe over the past several years. It is estimated that more than 129,000 elephants have been poached since January 2012. “If the killing rate continues, certain African elephant populations could go extinct within a decade,” says Roberts.
Additionally, all five extant rhino species are in serious danger due to poaching. Africa’s black rhinos are critically endangered, with a population of fewer than 5,000. There are only 3,000 one-horned rhinos remaining in India and Nepal, and Southeast Asia’s Sumatran and Javan rhinos number only in the hundreds and tens, respectively. The horns, made of a substance akin to fingernails, are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Despite conclusive evidence that they have no curative properties, hundreds of rhinos are killed for their horns every year.
Poaching is not only a wildlife conservation and animal welfare issue, but is also directly linked to transnational criminal syndicates, according to the Born Free USA reports, Ivory’s Curse and Out of Africa. Poaching supplies $7-10 billion to a wildlife trafficking enterprise that enables terrorism, weapons, and human trafficking, feeding devastating violence and instability in Africa. Global criminal syndicates use poaching as a substantial source of funding for their brutal activities, which also threatens U.S. national security.
New York and New Jersey passed similar laws restricting the commerce in ivory and rhino horn last year, and California more recently. View a map of state action to crack down on the sale of ivory and rhino horn at www.bornfreeusa.org/ivoryinfographic.
Born Free USA is a global leader in animal welfare and wildlife conservation. Through litigation, legislation, and public education, Born Free USA leads vital campaigns against animals in entertainment, exotic “pets,” trapping and fur, and the destructive international wildlife trade. Born Free USA brings to America the message of “compassionate conservation”—the vision of the U.K.-based Born Free Foundation, established in 1984 by Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, stars of the iconic film Born Free, along with their son Will Travers. Born Free’s mission is to end suffering of wild animals in captivity, conserve threatened and endangered species, and encourage compassionate conservation globally. More at www.bornfreeusa.org, www.twitter.com/bornfreeusa, and www.facebook.com/bornfreeusa.
Media Contact: Rodi Rosensweig, 203/270-8929, therodicompany@gmail.com