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Conservationists Say China's Demand For Ivory Endangers Elephants
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Between 5,000 and 12,000 African elephants are killed each year to
supply illegal and unregulated markets in African countries, China and
Thailand with ivory





Elephant tusk storeroom in the Kruger National Park, South
AfricaConservationists say China's growing economy is fueling a demand
for illegal ivory, which is endangering African elephants.

The founder of Save the Elephants, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, told
reporters in Nairobi that people in China need to take measures to
prevent the destruction of elephants in Africa.

"Clearly, the Chinese buyer, the Chinese market, has to be addressed,"
said Iain Douglas-Hamilton. "They cannot be addressed from Nairobi or
London or New York - it is something the Chinese must do themselves.
An international initiative to engage the Chinese civil society in
drawing attention to the threat that the trade poses to the African
and Asian elephants would fall on fertile ground."

Prominent Kenyan environmentalist Dr. Richard Leakey adds that, when
the international ban against ivory was levied more than a decade ago,
not many people in China could afford to purchase trinkets and jewelry
made out of ivory.

But Dr. Leakey says that a swelling middle-income bracket there means
that many people can now purchase the ivory, which he says is a big
part of the culture.

The conservationists were on hand to discuss a series of studies on
world ivory trade, sponsored by Save the Elephants.

According to research, between 5,000 and 12,000 African elephants are
killed each year to supply illegal and unregulated markets in African
countries, China, and Thailand with ivory. Most of the ivory comes
from the Democratic Republic of Congo and other places in central
Africa.

A research paper produced earlier this year estimates that several
tons of African tusks are smuggled into China annually to supply
illicit ivory factories.

Ivory items are also being sold in Germany, the United Kingdom, and
other markets in Europe, but these are primarily made from pre-ban
ivory.

In 1989, the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species, known as CITES, instituted a global ban on the ivory trade
after the death of millions of elephants at the hands of poachers.