You never really think about elephant overpopulation being an issue. But the other night at dinner with a number of friends, Michael of in-tacoma.net mentioned the fact that there are now plans in place to kill off the overabundance of elephants in the world. I was incredulous at the thought of this, beliving that elephants - definitely Asian and most likely African - are endangered animals. I would be wrong.

Asian or Indian Elephants have been listed as endangered since June 14, 1976. The Asian elephant has smaller ears than the African elephant and the females never have tusks. There are approximately 34,000 to 54,000 Asian elephants left in the world today.

African Elephants are another story. African elephants are the enormous elephants that often roam for miles searching for water all over the African savannah. They have large ears and tusks and live in matriarchial groups. There are approximately 470,000 to 690,000 African elephants in the world today. There is still a significant problem in Africa with the poaching of elephants for ivory.

I've paraphrased some of the below writing from the linked article (IPS: AFRICA: Elephant Overpopulation Keeps Cull Debate Simmering):

During the 1970s and 80s elephant populations around the world were nearly destroyed due to the demand for ivory. In 1989 the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) banned ivory trade. This act allowed elephant populations to begin to recover, and has lead to elephants competing with humans for food and land in numerous countries across Africa. Nearly half of the African elephant population is crowded into the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.

In order to control this exploding elephant population, many regional governments believe a closely monitered legal ivory trade is the answer. The question is, would this bring the economic stimulous the regions need without threatening the African elephant species? And would it really be possible to monitor a truly legal ivory trade, or would it just be a cover-up for illegal poaching?

Zimbabwe would like to take the extra step of culling elephant herds, something that has been illegal under CITES. Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa are also pro-culling. This would allow them to trade their confiscated collections of poached ivory to fund conservation work.

CITES has thus far denied permission to all countries to trade raw ivory, but has allowed for the trade of elephant hides, hair, and some worked ivory from select countries.
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It always bothers me when humans fuck something up, get animals involved, and then make the animals suffer because of it. No one can explain to the animals why we're makeing them suffer, why we're killing them, or torturing them, or doing what we're doing - we just go ahead and do it. Don't worry that the animals are sentient beings, capible of feeling pain or that they are self-aware.

Elephants are my favorite animals. They live in family groups, are matriarchal, speak in a complex language, and mourn their dead. More and more zoos are giving up their elephants to sanctuaries as we are recognizing that zoo conditions cause physical and mental damage. Circus elephants are widely acknowledged to be abused.

On the one hand, I understand that the people in Africa need to be protected, and that there is a need to get the large population of elephants under control. On the other hand, I don't like the idea of allowing the ivory market to start up again. I think that's a mistake. Once it's up and running again, it would be very difficult to ever shut down again.

I don't know how anyone could ever hunt an elephant, with all the information we know aobut how their minds work and the things they think. You know you're killing a thinking, feeling, loving being. It's sickening. And you don't eat elephant meat. It's only for a trophy.

This is a decision that CITES and the individual governments of Africa will need to undertake very carefully. I wish them intelligence, insight, and wisdom in their decision.

Posted by: Ensie at 01:36 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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