Legal ivory markets that are supposed to only deal in stockpiles and antiques inevitably launder poached ivory. Close them all, says WCS Vice President for Species Conservation. David Biello reports. Aug 11, 2014
| | We may be the last generation to see elephants in the wild. Because .Nearly two-thirds of all forest elephants have been killed for their tusks in the last decade, some . At least 30,000 elephants of all three remaining species have died each year in recent years. At that rate, will be gone in just a few decades. All so their modified incisors can be used as a raw material for art in Asia or the bows of string instruments in Europe.In fact, the continued demand, along with the dwindling numbers of elephants, have pushed up prices for ivory. The resulting , not the poor. These extremist poachers employ machine guns, night-vision goggles and even helicopters.Only one action can save the world’s wild elephants, according to Elizabeth Bennett, Vice President for Species Conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society: close all ivory markets. Her analysis is in the journal . [Elizabeth L. Bennett, ]International trade in fresh ivory is already banned. But legal markets persist in Asia, fed by confiscated ivory stockpiles and antiques. Inevitably, those markets serve to and drive demand. Therefore, all ivory markets must be closed. Otherwise we may be living through the .—David Biello
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