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Kenya Burns Elephant Ivory Worth $105 Million to Defy Poachers

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D

Dalek

Member
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/05/0....html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0&referer=


_89530668_89530667.jpg


NAIROBI, Kenya — What do you do when you have more than $100 million worth of ivory sitting around, just collecting dust?

You burn it, of course.

That is what Kenya did on Saturday, when President Uhuru Kenyatta lit a huge pyre of elephant tusks as a way to show the world that Kenya is serious about ending the illegal ivory trade, which is threatening to push wild elephants to extinction.

“No one, and I repeat, no one, has any business in trading in ivory, for this trade means death — the death of our elephants and the death of our natural heritage,” Mr. Kenyatta said.

In the past few years, heavily armed poachers, using military tactics, have wiped out tens of thousands of elephants across Africa. Many of the tusks enter an underground pipeline to Asia, especially China, where ivory is used to make eyeglass frames, combs, statuettes and other trinkets.

Wildlife experts say the street price of a kilogram of ivory is around $1,000. On Saturday, Kenya set alight 105 metric tons of ivory — its stockpile of confiscated and recovered tusks. It was the most ivory ever destroyed at one time, representing 6,000 to 7,000 dead elephants.

At current prices, and without including the rhino horns also burned, that is a $105 million bonfire.

Richard Leakey, one of Kenya’s leading conservationists, said he was “humbled, sad and encouraged.”

“We shouldn’t have to burn 105 tons of ivory and 1.5 tons of rhino horn,” he said. “It is a disgraceful shame this continues.”

This was not the first time that truckloads of tusks had been burned. Mr. Leakey presided over a large ivory bonfire in Kenya in 1989. Since then, many other countries have done the same to make the statement that ivory is worthless — unless it is on an elephant.
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F

Frozenprince

Banned
As perfectly symbolic as this is.

Elephants are still going to be hunted into extinction, you cannot dissuade humans from being awful when there is money on the line.

Not enough.
 
M

moist

Member
Since then, many other countries have done the same to make the statement that ivory is worthless — unless it is on an elephant.
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Once again the majestic walrus gets the shaft.
 
Proelite

Proelite

Member
Hmm they would have been better off selling these horns for like $.99 a lb to direct buyers for several years. Starve the poachers out.

Use the money to beef up the security.
 
A

astroturfing

Member
that's pretty impressive. a poor country like Kenya shouldn't have to burn anything worth even a fraction of all that though.. the world is just not fair.
 
G

Goodacre0081

Member
never really understood the mindset of these poachers. what happens after they kill off all the sources of ivory? seems like conservation and using the animals as tourist attractions is far more sustainable.
 
R

ratcliffja

Member
Goodacre0081 said:
never really understood the mindset of these poachers. what happens after they kill off all the sources of ivory? seems like conservation and using the animals as tourist attractions is far more sustainable.
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The poachers are typically uneducated poor people desperate for money. The real villains are those that employ the poachers and prey off the ignorance of others with their snake oil remedies.
 
S

sangreal

Member
Aeris130 said:
Won't this remove supply, thus driving up prices, encouraging further poaching?
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This was my first thought and then it dawned on me that they are already removed from the supply. As the article notes, it sends a message that the supply is worthless. Hording it suggests that it might have value some day
 
K

Karsticles

Member
Goodacre0081 said:
never really understood the mindset of these poachers. what happens after they kill off all the sources of ivory? seems like conservation and using the animals as tourist attractions is far more sustainable.
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They are looking to get rich HERE and NOW. They don't care about sustainability or later generations.
 
D

darscot

Member
Great move by Kenya, no one should profit from ivory. Blaming the poachers is like blaming this street level drug dealers. They need to move up the chain the real issue is the people willing to pay for it.
 
U

UFO

Banned
Good on Kenya. I completely agree with this and disagree with people saying they should have sold it to drive down prices. That would have set a horrible example, they need to destroy the market not try to reduce it.

Also that picture is terrifying. So many elephants. :(


Spring-Loaded said:
Poaching is horrible, but most of the people doing it would be destitute without it. It's not like affluent people engaging in dogfighting
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I honestly do not care if they would all starve to death without the ability to poach. The worlds human population is not endanger.
 
T

titiklabingapat

Member
WWF is actually pretty good with their advertising campaigns targeting those in the West about the demand creating the problem. The problem is doing that in China and other developing countries that are consuming all these ivory. I'm not really sure what the right approach is but I'm fairly confident that a massive and slick education campaign can put a dent on it. Hell, try even shaming them like we have with the Japanese eating whales.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
titiklabingapat said:
WWF is actually pretty good with their advertising campaigns targeting those in the West about the demand creating the problem. The problem is doing that in China and other developing countries that are consuming all these ivory.
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But that rhino horn powder could save my marriage!
 
K

KeyBladerXIII

Member
sangreal said:
This was my first thought and then it dawned on me that they are already removed from the supply. As the article notes, it sends a message that the supply is worthless. Hording it suggests that it might have value some day
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Exactly. Sure, Kenya could've sold it off for cash to put into conservation programs, but that'd be like putting all your winnings from cock fighting into improving quality of life for farm chickens. Yeah, it's a good cause, but the manner in which it was done is hypocritical and sketch as fuck.

By doing this, Kenya says, "Hey, check out all this ivory ripped from elephants. Imagine the cash you can get from it! We dont't fucking care, this shit needs to stop." Then they light it all up.
 
S

Speevy

Banned
Are there seriously people in this thread who sympathize with the plight of a starving, poor person who must kill an almost extinct animal to feed his family?

My phone was not expensive.

Sent from my Ipad
 
N

Nipo

Member
Speevy said:
Are there seriously people in this thread who sympathize with the plight of a starving, poor person who must kill an almost extinct animal to feed his family?

My phone was not expensive.

Sent from my Ipad
Click to expand...

Yes just like people who sympathize with the poor Somali pirates who have to ransom people to feed their family.
 
S

Spring-Loaded

Member
UFO said:
I honestly do not care if they would all starve to death without the ability to poach. The worlds human population is not endanger.
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Good for you that it's so clear cut and binary

Between them starving to death and finding a more positive way for those people to survive & feed their families, which alternative to poaching would you prefer?
 
Lamel

Lamel

Banned
Good, poaching is despicable. I understand that some people are forced to do it, but it really shouldn't be such a huge market.

UFO said:
I honestly do not care if they would all starve to death without the ability to poach. The worlds human population is not endanger.
Click to expand...
See this is really easy to say when you sit in a relatively much more comfortable position. Seriously dude think about wha you just spewed out. You're no one to decide who should be left to die.

Yes I'd say poachers are bad people but it isn't stemming from pure inherent evil or something.
 
Z

Zeus Molecules

illegal immigrants are stealing our air
Could that Ivory have been sold to improve the protection of the remaining elephants?

Its the legalize drug argument..... but with elephants
 
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