A few days ago it was reported that these scum have
reached a new low, by poisoning with cyanide vital drinking and bathing pools,
killing more than eighty elephants. (BBC, Daily Mail et al). This happened in
Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park in July. Police say the poachers mixed a
cocktail of cyanide and salt and water and poured it on to a number of salt
licks – exposed deposits of minerals that the elephants use to get essential
nutrients. Police found the mutilated bodies of elephants strewn around; some
of the smaller elephants still had tusks, their size doubtless not worth
taking. Poachers may get about £50 for each large tusk. Since discovering the
carcasses, the police and rangers have searched nearby villages and recovered
about twenty tusks, cyanide and wire snares. Nine alleged poachers were
arrested and a South African businessman has been accused of being behind the
poisonings.
Zimbabwe’s environment minister says ‘We are
declaring war on the poachers… because our wildlife, including the elephants
they are killing, are part of the natural resources and wealth that we want to
benefit the people of Zimbabwe.’ (Here is not the place to examine where all
the country’s riches have gone, Zimbabwe once being the continent’s bread basket and
now just a basket case...)
Needless to say, a wide range of other animal
carcasses were found near the contaminated watering holes – buffalo, lions,
vultures, antelopes and jackals. Doubtless these despicable people are
responsible for killing many more, since birds and animals will have fed on the
poisoned carcasses.
In January 2012 a hundred raiders on horseback
charged out of Chad into Cameroon’s national park and, carrying AK47s and
rocket-propelled grenades, slaughtered hundreds of elephants in one of the
worst acts since a global ivory trade ban was adopted in 1989. Twenty-five
thousand elephants were killed illegally in 2011. Ten Asian countries with the most ivory
seized: India, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong
Kong, Thailand and China. Seizure of tusks is too late, of course: the animals
are dead. Action is needed at the sharp end. And, to be fair, it is robust, but
the numbers of poachers are great. In the first half of 2012, for example, six
park rangers died protecting Kenya’s elephants, while the rangers killed 23
poachers.
China accounts for 4o% of the world’s trade in
elephant tusks.
Some official ivory carvers in China tender the lie
that they only use tusks from elephants that died of natural causes, or those
acquired before the ban. Swindlers use
tea or Coca-Cola to stain ivory to give it an antique appearance.
CITES – the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species – has its work cut out, not only with regard to elephants,
but also the rhino and tigers, among other at risk species.
For our ivory wedding anniversary, I drew this
picture. The ivory looks best decorating the elephant.
At least in fiction, some of the bad guys can get
their comeuppance!
BLOOD
OF THE DRAGON TREES
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Amazon.com - http://goo.gl/wHQpQp
Laura Reid likes her new job
on Tenerife, teaching the Spanish twins Maria and Ricardo Chávez. She certainly
doesn’t want to get involved with Andrew Kirby and his pal, Jalbala Emcheta,
who work for CITES, tracking down illegal traders in endangered species. Yet
she’s undeniably drawn to Andrew, which is complicated, as she’s also attracted
to Felipe, the brother of her widower host, Don Alonso.
Felipe’s girlfriend Lola is jealous and Laura is forced
to take sides – risking her own life – as she and Andrew uncover the criminal
network that not only deals in the products from endangered species, but also
thrives on people trafficking. The pair are aided by two Spanish lawmen,
Lieutenant Vargas of the Guardia Civil and Ruben Salazar, Inspector Jefe del
Grupo de Homicidios de las Canarias.Very soon betrayal and mortal danger lurk in the shadows, along with the dark deeds of kidnapping and clandestine scuba diving…
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