Illegal Ivory Trade Research Articles

Reducing Poaching in Elephant Populations on Random Forest Algorithm

Although most countries have established bans on the ivory trade, the illegal ivory trade continues to be a serious threat to the lives of populations due to, among other things, the existence of legal stockpiles and the desire for artifacts. To address this challenge, we have initiated a five-year data-focused program, the Ecological Tracking and Intelligent Prevention System (ETIPS). By utilizing random forest algorithms to predict areas where poachers are likely to be active, the project aims to open up new avenues for elephant conservation. This paper describes in detail the conceptualization and implementation plan of the project, and provides an in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of the project after implementation based on existing data. By providing theoretical support for the model's tracking effects and conservation outcomes, we expect to be able to provide more effective strategies and solutions for protecting these precious lives.

Ice Ivory to White Gold: Links Between the Illegal Ivory Trade and the Trade in Geocultural Artifacts

The United Kingdom, with the introduction of the Ivory Act 2018, is at the forefront of elephant protection, and it is hoped that governmental commitments, made in the 25 Year Environment Plan, will see increased protection for other species at risk due to the illegal wildlife trade. However, one species that currently falls outside of the regulation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) can be directly linked to the ivory trade: the mammoth. The woolly mammoth became extinct more than 10,000 years ago, but the genus Mammuthus, since its appearance in Africa c.5 ma, was one of the most successful megafaunal groups, radiating into 10 species and found across the Northern Hemisphere from Siberia to Crete. As the world warms and the permafrost melts, mammoth tusks are being uncovered across the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in Siberia’s Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). There are close similarities between the tusks of elephants and mammoths, leading conservationists to fear that the increase in “ice ivory” heralds a new threat to elephants and our wider understanding of the “woolly” mammoth and its world.

Combating the Use of Cyanide Poison in Ivory Poaching

Malicious, commercial or retaliatory poisoning of wildlife is increasing across Africa, including the killing of elephants (Loxodonta africana) to supply the illegal ivory trade. Regional differences exist in the types of poisons used by poachers and in Zimbabwe cyanide has become more commonly employed in recent years – sourced illegally from its commercial use in the gold mining industry. Cyanide is potent, so can be rapidly lethal in small quantities and is also not too difficult or costly to source illegally. It is therefore a relatively low-risk option for any ivory poacher, even individuals not involved with criminal syndicates. On the positive side, however, cyanide has far fewer bio-accumulative and cycling properties in ecosystems than more frequently used poisons like pesticides. Detection and subsequent proof in a court of law, of the illegal use of cyanide in elephant carcasses, can be problematic to distinguish conclusively from other causes of sudden death. Therefore, proactive strategies to combat wildlife poisons are far more successful and the one proposed here against cyanide provides a good model. It encourages the establishment of strong intelligence networks to enable the arrest of poachers in possession of poisons before they are deployed in the field, and effective application of laws which now facilitate convictions for poaching. A key element in prosecution under recently revised Zimbabwean laws is proving that illegal possession of cyanide in the relevant circumstances includes the intent to use it for ivory poaching. Zimbabwe's legal experience in this respect could prove especially valuable to other countries facing similar threats of poison being used illegally to kill any wildlife species.

The Dynamics of the Illegal Ivory Trade and the Need for Stronger Global Governance

The illegal ivory trade is the main driver of elephant poaching in Africa. In recent years, China—long regarded as the main destination of illegal ivory trade—has undertaken a series of policy interventions to curtail ivory imports, such as the closure of ivory carving enterprises. In this article we explore the impact of these recent interventions on the price of ivory and poaching and the wider drivers connected to the illegal trade, such as China’s macro-economic performance. The research demonstrates that the price of illegal ivory in China has dropped significantly, mainly due to measures taken under China’s “Ecological Civilization” (EC) programme and ivory trade ban to curb demand and supply. The number of illegal ivory seizures decreased over time but remains active, with a high proportion of seizures categorized as minor infringements (ivory pieces under 2.4 kg) often imported by tourists as souvenirs. We also find that the price of ivory is recovering in other destinations such as Vietnam, and it is becoming clear that all countries should make more political commitments on the existing basis to elephant conservation and curtailing illegal ivory trade.

Who are the elephants living in the hybridization zone? How genetics may guide conservation to better protect endangered elephants

After a long-standing debate, African elephants are now considered by the IUCN as two distinct species: savannah elephants ( Loxodonta africana ), listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and forest elephants ( Loxodonta cyclotis ), critically endangered. Both are severely threatened by forest loss, fragmentation and degradation due to agriculture expansion, as well as by illegal ivory trade. Although the two species have different habitat preferences, their range overlaps in some ecotones; despite an ancient separation between these two species, hybrids have been reported in five locations. The main hybrid hotspot is located on the Democratic Republic of Congo-Uganda border and still remains understudied. Using 15 microsatellites, we investigated this hybridization zone by determining the species and hybrid status of 177 fecal samples collected in the area of Sebitoli, at the extreme North of Kibale National Park. Surprisingly for a forest area, no pure forest elephants were detected. Out of the 91 individuals sampled, a very large proportion (81.3%) were hybrid individuals mainly from a second generation or more. Only 18.7% of pure savannah elephants were detected, all originating from the DRC-Uganda border. Further analyses are necessary to assess the age of this hybridization zone. Our results emphasize that hybrids and savannah elephants can successfully range in forested area. They also show that forest elephants are rare even in their native habitat. In the current context of high threat faced by African elephant species, it is crucial to strengthen conservation efforts for these species before it is too late. • 91 individuals were sampled in the Ugandan elephant hybridization zone. • No forest elephants were detected in the sampled forested area. • 81% of the sampled elephants were hybrids. • Hybrids are fertile with 98.6% of hybrids belonging to second generation or more. • Pure savannah elephants seem to originate from the DRC-Uganda border.

Sway of the sea: Kathryn Bigelow’s imperial eco-eschatology

ABSTRACT This article expands on the condemnatory Leni Riefenstahl/Kathryn Bigelow association made by Naomi Wolf in 2013, through a consideration of aesthetics, landscapes and ecology, and potential parallels between Bigelow‘s work and Riefenstahl‘s earlier ‘Mountain Films’ period. Bigelow reaches for a feminised, New Age mysticism through which her characters are momentarily lifted out of their mundane earthly concerns to commune with the wider universe. This is considered particularly with respect to Point Break. In Last Days of Ivory, Bigelow advocates for military action in the name of conservation, on the disputed grounds that the illegal ivory trade funds Al-Shabaab. The blatantness of Bigelow’s propaganda in Last Days of Ivory, which chimed with Hillary Clinton’s position on the same (a greenwashed liberal interventionism), is lent the approval of elephants, and of the wider ecology, in Bigelow’s film. In the same way that Riefenstahl once repurposed German Romanticism for a sequence of Hitler descending in an aeroplane from the clouds, as though the saviour of Germany from its enemies, Bigelow now reworks such Romanticism in the name of the ‘white woman’s burden’: the Western imperial feminist speaks out on the part of the oppressed, and summons the ecosphere as her witness.

The Elephant in the Courtroom: An Analysis of the United Kingdom’s Ivory Act 2018, Its Path to Enactment, and Its Potential Impact on the Illegal Trade in Ivory

In 2019, Royal Assent was granted to the United Kingdom’s Ivory Act 2018. The legislation, introduced by Environment Secretary Michael Gove in 2018, was welcomed by politicians and conservation groups as “an extraordinary achievement” and “a landmark in our fight to protect wildlife and the environment.” In passing through the Parliamentary process in only seven months, the Ivory Act was testament to the cross-party commitment to tackling the illegal ivory trade. However, its path to enactment has not been smooth sailing. Following Royal Assent, the Ivory Act was the subject of judicial review brought by a company created by a group of antiques dealers, the Friends of Antique Cultural Treasures Limited, for the purpose of challenging the Ivory Act. While the Ivory Act is now considered among the strictest ivory trade legislation in the world, this article considers its path to enactment, its likely impact on the trade in ivory artifacts in the United Kingdom, and whether the act can fulfil the British government’s aim to make it “one of the toughest bans on the planet.”

Are ivory antiques actually antique?

Twenty-five samples of ivory artefacts were analysed using a radiocarbon dating method. These artefacts were part of a collection of 77 items seized during a wildlife law enforcement operation targeting online illegal ivory trade. Based on the opinion of a qualified expert, 14 of the 25 samples were declared antique, meaning their presumed origin is older than 1947. According to the European Union’s law, antique ivory is exempt from an otherwise total ban on commercial ivory activities since such trade does not contribute to the current decline in elephant population. The radiocarbon measurement has revealed alarming findings that 17 of the 25 processed samples (68%) are not antique as their origin is younger than 1947. The antique expert’s determination of the ivory age failed in 12 of 14 cases (86%).

The Conservation of African Elephants under the CITES International Ivory Trade Ban

1989 CITES decision to put a total ban on international trade in ivory and the decisions to allow the 1999 and 2008 one-off-sales have generated polarized debates on whether or not these decisions are the reasons behind increasing levels of poaching in Africa. An undisputed fact is that; international illegal ivory trade has promoted rampant elephant poaching in Africa. What has and is contested is whether the ban or the one-off sales have a role to play in the current elephant poaching and increase in the illegal ivory trade. The Southern African range countries blame the international ivory trade ban for the current ivory poaching levels, while Countries such as Kenya, Benin and Uganda have blamed the sales for reigniting international appetite for ivory. The available evidence suggests that the international ivory trade ban with an unbanned domestic market has promoted poaching and negatively impacted on range countries’ ability to effectively and sustainably protect elephants. Besides the reduction or elimination of revenue, the ban undermined the economic incentives associated with elephant conservation, thereby making elephant conservation unattractive, unachievable and subsequently opening up to poaching and illegal trade.

Insights into the illegal ivory trade and status of elephants in Togo, West Africa

AbstractIn Togo, the illegal trade of African elephant (Loxodonta africana) ivory is widespread despite efforts made by the government to curtail these activities. By using data gathered from CITES institutions and natural resource management authorities in the country, we investigated the extent of ivory trafficking in Togo. We also conducted surveys in villages around protected areas, which still contain elephant populations to assess the species’ current status in the country. Our surveys indirectly corroborated that there are probably no more than 150 elephants collectively within the country's protected areas, most of them in the Fazao‐Malfakassa National Park. We also estimated that a minimum of 41.65 tons of ivory (elephant tusks and carved objects) was intercepted in Togo between 2008 and 2018. Despite the fact that presently illegal elephant hunting is unlikely in Togo, we show that this country is the entry point for ivory from Central Africa (Cameroon and Gabon). We maintain that Togo's position as an intermediary country in the illegal ivory trade is a tangible threat to elephants throughout their range countries and is also likely to affect the dwindling population of these animals in the country if adequate enforcement is not implemented.

Expediting the sampling, decalcification, and forensic DNA analysis of large elephant ivory seizures to aid investigations and prosecutions

The illegal ivory trade continues to drive elephant poaching. Large ivory seizures in Africa and Asia are still commonplace. Wildlife forensics is recognised as a key enforcement tool to combat this trade. However, the time and resources required to effectively test large ivory seizures is often prohibitive. This limits or delays testing, which may impede investigations and/or prosecutions. Typically, DNA analysis of an ivory seizure involves pairing and sorting the tusks, sampling the tusks, powdering the sample, decalcification, then DNA extraction. Here, we optimize the most time-consuming components of this process: sampling and decalcification. Firstly, using simulations, we demonstrate that tusks do not need to be paired to ensure an adequate number of unique elephants are sampled in a large seizure. Secondly, we determined that directly powdering the ivory using a Dremel drill with a high-speed cutter bit, instead of cutting the ivory with a circular saw and subsequently powdering the sample in liquid nitrogen with a freezer mill, produces comparable results. Finally, we optimized a rapid 2 -h decalcification protocol that produces comparable results to a standard 3-day protocol. We tested/optimised the protocols on 33 raw and worked ivory samples, and demonstrated their utility on a case study, successfully identifying 94% of samples taken from 123 tusks. Using these new rapid protocols, the entire sampling and DNA extraction process takes less than one day and requires less-expensive equipment. We expect that the implementation of these rapid protocols will promote more consistent and timely testing of ivory seizures suitable for enforcement action.

Conservation: Monitoring Elephant Poaching to Prevent a Population Crash

African elephants are under threat, especially from poaching for illegal ivory trade. New monitoring data show a dramatic increase in elephant poaching in northern Botswana, where the largest remaining population of African elephants resides.

Radiocarbon dating of ivory: Potentialities and limitations in forensics

The determination of the age of elephant ivory is a crucial aspect in the fight against illegal ivory trade which is still a relevant problem having triggered the decline of elephant populations due to poaching in different areas of the globe. Indeed, the absolute dating of the ivory allows, in forensics practice, to establish whether a determined sample or object was obtained and imported illegally, violating the international trade ban. In this frame the use radiocarbon dating has surely a great potential and is widely used. In this paper we review the potential of the method in this field, highlighting its advantages and drawbacks. In particular we show, through the discussion of real cases, how it is possible to improve the achievable chronological resolution by refining the obtained ages trough the proper use of available information and considerations.

Black Markets: A Comparison of the Illegal Ivory and Narcotic Trades

ABSTRACT Similarities between the illegal wildlife and narcotics trades pose possibilities for an improved understanding of the spatial and temporal gaps identified in illegal ivory trade literature. In this paper, novel comparisons are drawn between these two black markets. Similarities include those of trade chain dynamics, loss of trade assets to seizures, consumer end product distribution, and data collection methodology, among others. The findings suggest that approaches and theories should be extracted from existing narcotics analyses and applied to future ivory market studies. This approach could provide a clearer understanding of the ivory trade, shedding light on elephant poaching incentives and the effects of policy changes. It would allow for better-informed trade and conservation policy decisions, benefitting long-term elephant conservation.

Understanding the illegal ivory trade and traders: evidence from Uganda

Understanding the illegal ivory trade and traders: evidence from Uganda

Illegal Ivory Trade as Transnational Organized Crime? an Empirical Study Into Ivory Traders in Uganda

Illegal Ivory Trade as Transnational Organized Crime? an Empirical Study Into Ivory Traders in Uganda

Crushing Burdens of Material Culture

The illegal trade in endangered species stands as one of the great shames of our age. Alongside human trafficking and the drug trade, these practices operate in the shadows of civil society, permissioned by the affluent as a supply chain practice that profiteers on loss and human suffering. The guest editors of this issue approached our journal two years ago with the vision for focusing on the persistent trade in elephant ivory and how museums can be part of a productive dialogue that can ensure the survival of elephants. We were pleased to see this effort use material culture and history as a call to action for the entire sector. It's now been twenty-one years since I was a curator for the Lilah Callen Holden Elephant Museum, a micro-museum at the Oregon Zoo dedicated to the history of elephants. That zoo was renowned as the home of the first surviving elephant birth in a zoo in 1962. Now, as editor of this journal, I'm once again reading about the global debate surrounding the international ban on elephant ivory and museum management of the assets that represent our material culture. Today, the Oregon Zoo has closed the Holden museum, but during its revival in the mid-1990s, we mounted an exhibition to celebrate the lore of elephant entanglement in human culture, and to examine the plight of the species as its habitats were being destroyed and lives taken to support an illegal but flourishing trade in ivory. While our mission was noble, the community passion about elephants led to a collection most notable for the volume of elephant eared tea cosies and US election ephemera accessioned into the collection to appease donors before a collections policy was developed. We were also the recipients of an enormous collection in confiscated ivory given to us in trust by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and US Customs for use in our education programs. The government had entrusted our museum to dissuade the public from buying ivory products while traveling abroad. The ivory trinkets we held represented a range of commodities, from cheap souvenirs to elaborately carved full tusks depicting life in the African sub-continent where elephants are found. As a curator, however, it was clear that none of this stuff was museum worthy. Its provenance was suspect, most of the craftsmanship lacked distinction. The vast majority smacked of a rough assembly line production of souvenirs that could have likely been better manufactured in cast resin. We had become guardians of more tchotchkes than could be used for any educational purpose and likely would have been discarded by any interior designer given the chance to fix up someone's curio cabinet. These were not art; they were cheap mass-produced impulse items. They did not speak to the story of society through our material culture other than demonstrating how affluent cultures seek to redeem their guilt by representing cultural history as savage and primitive. Elephant ivory trinkets crushed as part of a public program to draw attention to the illegal ivory trade, June 19, 2015. Photo Julie Larsen Maher courtesy WCS. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com] We hope this issue will advance the professional dialogue around how we display the products from art history. These articles and reviews give context to ivory not only as an object grounded in the disciplines of art, history, and scientific research, but also on a continuum that directly links these objects through cultural, historical, archival, and conservation perspectives to the moral challenges we face as a planet witnessing the sixth great extinction. Museums have an obligation to reconsider the role ivory plays in their collections and exhibits in the face of this global issue. The ivory crisis provides an unprecedented opportunity for museums; few materials have been so universal in their scope and relevance. In many museums, the collection includes ivory products that have historical, artistic, and educational significance that museums might wish to protect. The story of the object, whether ornamented with elephant ivory or fully made from the material, puts museums in a position to activate dialogue about our moral responsibility to safeguard future global biodiversity. Museums have an obligation to reconsider the role ivory plays in their collections and exhibits in the face of this global issue. We hope this issue of Curator provides scholars with an essential grounding in contemporary approaches and look forward to how others will build on this scholarly work.

Truth matters for conservation and the environment

There is an understandable, but ultimately misguided temptation of some environmentalists to cling to any explanation which appears to strengthen their case. One such recent example is the attempt to claim that the proceeds of illegal trade in ivory may support and fund international terrorism. But enduring policy decisions are dependent on mutually-agreed and established facts, so rigorous fact-checking and sustaining the highest standards of professional integrity remain essential. Truth not only continues to matter; it remains the biggest weapon and shield for all wildlife conservationists and environmental scientists in a world of increasingly wanton, politically-motivated myth-making.

Hotspot elephant-poaching areas in the Eastern Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania

Elephant poaching is a significant problem in many parts of Africa, including Tanzania. This study identifies areas within the Eastern Selous Game Reserve (ESGR) that are at a higher risk of elephant poaching for the illegal ivory trade. We obtained data on the distribution of poached elephants and the seasons of poaching from 2008 to 2013 from the elephant mortality database of the Selous Game Reserve in the eastern and north-eastern sectors. The incidences of poaching were higher during the wet season. The hot spots of elephant poaching were observed on the edges of the ESGR. This finding was attributed to the involvement of local people adjacent to the ESGR in poaching activities due to a lack of economic opportunities. This study will serve as a tool to guide and inform reserve managers involved in wildlife conservation in Tanzania. Recommended solutions to address the problem of elephant poaching are improved economic opportunities for local people, enhanced conservation education and research and improved governance and law enforcement.

A novel application of mark-recapture to examine behaviour associated with the online trade in elephant ivory.

The illegal trade in elephant ivory is driving the unlawful killing of elephants such that populations are now suffering unsustainable reductions. The internet is increasingly being used as a platform to conduct illegal wildlife trade, including elephant ivory. As a globally accessible medium the internet is as highly attractive to those involved in the illegal trade as it is challenging to regulate. Characterising the online illegal wildlife (ivory) trade is complex, yet key to informing enforcement activities. We applied mark-recapture to investigate behaviour associated with the online trade in elephant ivory on eBay UK as a generalist online marketplace. Our results indicate that trade takes place via eBay UK, despite its policy prohibiting this, and that two distinct trading populations exist, characterised by the pattern of their ivory sales. We suggest these may represent a large number of occasional (or non-commercial) sellers and a smaller number of dedicated (or commercial) sellers. Directing resource towards reducing the volume of occasional sales, such as through education, would enable greater focus to be placed upon characterising the extent and value of the illegal, “commercial” online ivory trade. MRC has the potential to characterise the illegal trade in ivory and diverse wildlife commodities traded using various online platforms.