SAY NO TO POCHING

Elephants in Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve,
the oldest game reserve in Africa, could be
eliminated in as little as six years, according to a
report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
earlier this week. The US announced on
Thursday that it would ban the sale of ivory
within the country - a victory for wildlife
conservation activists.
An estimated 33,000 elephants are killed each year
for their ivory.
The number of elephants living in Tanzania’s
Selous Game Reserve has decreased by 90
percent over the past 40 years, with the WWF
predicting their potential elimination as early as
2022.

WWF and other conservation groups have
blamed industrial-scale elephant poaching for the
large decrease in the number of elephants living in
the Selous, driven by the worldwide demand for
ivory, which is particularly strong in Asian
countries.
The Tanzanian government has rejected parts of
the report, saying the analysis was outdated.
“The report has not taken into account of current
efforts to curb poaching,” said Gaudence Milanzi,
the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Tourism.
Milanzi noted the Tanzanian government’s efforts
prevent elephant poaching, including the recent
prosecution of Yang Feng Glan, a businesswoman
known as the “Ivory Queen”.
“They are taking actions and they are good
actions,” Fields told RFI of the Tanzanian
government. “But that’s not reflected in the trends
because it will take time for elephant population to
rebound and for elephant populations to come back
into the Selous from elsewhere.”
US bans ivory sales
On Thursday the US Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Service announced it would ban the sale of ivory in
the United States, a move seen as a positive step
for elephant protection.
“Closure of demand is what reduces the demand
for ivory, so what the US has done is absolutely
important in upholding that side of the pillar that
reduces or closes the market,” Winnie Kiiru, the
country and liaison director for the group Stop
Ivory
“When the buying stops, the killing will too."
Next week a delegation from the US will travel to
Beijing for a series of economic talks with
Chinese officials, who also have agreed to tighten
restrictions on ivory trade.