At the Africa Elephant Summit?in Botswana, delegates from about 20 countries throughout Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as China, gathered together to talk about the future of the African Elephant species.?
“This species could be extinct in our lifetime, within one or two decades, if the current trend continues... In five years we may have lost the opportunity to save this magnificent and iconic animal,”?Dune Ives, senior researcher at philanthropic organization, Vulcan, said.?
China is accused of fueling?the ivory trade, which is driving the extinction. China places high value on?ivory, with?figurines, given as traditional gifts, and ivory chopsticks, hair ornaments, and jewelry also as highly prized luxuries.?
"China regards ivory as a cultural heritage; they are not going to ban it," said Grace Gabriel of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
At the summit, a?Chinese delegate "complained that the country was being unfairly targeted and should be considered an ally in fight to save the elephant. The delegate said China funds anti-poaching efforts in?Africa?and is strengthening legislation," AFP and The Guardian reported.
But with poachers killing off so many elephants for their tusks, ivory is in incredibly high demand.?Beijing has seen ivory prices rocket from $750 in 2010 to $2,100 in 2014.?
The International Union for the?Conservation?of Nature reported that the African elephant population had dropped from 550,000 in 2006 to 470,000 in 2013. East Africa even worse, from 150,000 to about 100,000.
Researchers warn that they could go extinct as early as 2020, because poachers are ruthless.?
Last year, for instance, poachers in Zimbabwe killed?more than 300 elephants?by lacing waterholes in Hwange National Park with cyanide, Huffington Post reported. They also use snares, poison, axes and machine guns and trap the elephants to remove their tusks whether they are alive or dead.
“The overall objective of [the] meeting [was] to secure commitments at the highest political level to effectively protect the elephants and significantly reduce the trends of killings of elephants,” said Elias Magosi, from the Botswanan environment ministry.?
The U.S has already smashed?tons of contraband ivory seized from smugglers or confiscated from unwitting tourist, and Obama announced in February that he would ban commercial importing and exporting of ivory, restrict domestic trade, except for antiques and limit elephant trophy imports to two per hunter.
The "National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking & Commercial Ban on Trade in Elephant Ivory"?Fact Sheet?also strengthened?the elephants' relaxed protection restrictions in the Endangered Species Act.?
After U.S.'s ivory crush?in 2013, the Chinese government destroyed 6 tons this January, and Hong Kong began destroying its 30-ton stockpile, one of the largest in the world, on March 15.
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