Thai authorities recently indicted two key suspects in an international ivory trafficking operation. One suspect, arrested in Bangkok in November 2009, has been charged with violating US Federal smuggling statutes as it appears that some of the ivory was sold to an individual in Montclair, CA.
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Thai authorities will seek prosecution for violating Thailand’s Wild Animal Reservation and Preservation Act. The investigation included a raid on ivory shops and ivory dealers in Nakhon which uncovered six whole, raw African elephant tusks, valued at more than $30,000.
The last year has seen a massive rise in elephant poaching, the volume of illegal ivory intercepted, and the price of raw ivory on the street. This “surge” has, in all likelihood, been stimulated by the “one-off” legal sale of over 100 metric tons of stockpiled ivory sold by South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana in November 2008.
Born Free USA fears the situation will now be made worse by proposals from two African countries, Tanzania and Zambia, to sell another 111 metric tons. If these sales are approved at the CITES (Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species) meeting due to take place in Doha, Qatar, March 2010, the end result will be disastrous for elephants.
The bottom line? Buy ivory, elephants die! The solution? Stop future sales and ban the ivory trade!
Born Free USA will be at the Doha meeting speaking strongly on behalf of elephants and other endangered animals. Your support is critical to our mission. Please donate today and help us end this brutal trade.
Blogging off,
Will