Saving Elephants from Poachers
Poaching refers to the illegal capture of wild animals and killing them for valuable products such as ivory and skins. The debate on whether elephant poaching should be legalised is contentious. Although elephant poaching was banned in 1989, the practice is still rampant in various parts of Africa (Reed n.p.) as demand for this precious commodity have skyrocketed in the black market, especially in China (Walker. n.p.). Proponents of illegal poaching argue that legalising ivory trade will lead to indiscriminate killing, and endangering, or elephant species. On the other hand, opponents argue that by instituting control measures in the trade illegal poaching will be controlled, if not eliminated.
In his article, 'Allow controlled ivory trade', Eugene Laponte (n.p.) argues that prohibiting the poaching and trade in ivory is not in itself a solution to the issue of illegal ivory trade, but rather the problem. Laponte (n.p.) further indicates that before the decision by CITES to impose a permanent ban on ivory trade, illegal poaching was at acceptable and controlled levels (Seguya et al. n.p.). This resulted in massive killing of elephants following a significant increase in the price of ivory. Accordingly, he cites permitting controlled legal trade for such countries as China and Japan where ivory is in high demand as a means to enhancing the sustainable use of ivory thus leading to efficient conservation mechanism.
I am, however opposed to the arguments put forth by Laponte for a number of reasons. First, it is very hard to implement such a strategy because it largely operates based on the mechanism of a black market. Secondly, permitting controlled ivory trade would result in confiscating and destruction of illegally acquired ivory by law enforcement officers. This would in turn drive up the price of ivory in the market, making it lucrative. Consequently, it would act as an incentive to poaching. Thirdly, this trend is likely to result in stockpiling of ivory by market speculators in the hope that the prices would rise on account of scarcity (Walker n.p.).
The best strategy to prevent illegal poaching therefore, seems to be the creation of an ivory market for elephants that have died form natural causes as legalising is likely to worsen ivory trade and endanger the elephant species.
Works Cited
Laponte Eugene. “Allow controlled legal ivory trade.”Dec. 16, 2016. Web. 11 January, 2017.
Reed Nathaniel. “The Ivory Trade: Ban or Regulate?” Sep. 23, 2016. Web. 10 January, 2017.
Rice Mary. “The Case Against a Legal Ivory Trade: It Will Lead to More Killing of
Elephants.” Oct. 13, 2014. Web. 10 January, 2017.
Seguya Andrew, Rowan Martin, Nitin Sekar, Solomon Hsiang, Enrico Di Minin and Douglas
MacMillan. “Debate: Would a legal ivory trade save elephants or speed up the massacre?”
Oct. 01, 2016. Web. 10 January 2017.
Walker, John F. “Why Prohibiting Trade in Ivory Won’t Save Elephants.” June 03, 2015. Web. 11 January, 2017.
