By the Skin of my Tusks and the Horn on my Head
For centuries, humans have been stealing from animals. Their homes, their land, and their bodies have solely fueled our growth as a species. The comfortable lifestyle they have provided has been the perfect environment for our greed to grow past necessity and into ornamental excess. As tradition hit it's stride in 7th century AD, large animals with defensive horns and majestic tusks became, and would continue their reign as, the most victimized animals of the next few thousand years. In the following pages the reader will find information regarding this tale of humanity's struggle between life and death, protection and riches, and the overall majesty that elephants and rhinoceroses bring to the world.
In modern day America, it could easily be wondered why horns and tusks are such desirable objects that they warrant the slaughter of so many pachyderms each year. That is an excellent question whose answer can be found in the molecular structure of any horn atop a rhinos head. Keratin, aside from composing human hair/skin/nails, is also one of the main ingredients in a rhinoceros' horn. Combined with calcium and melanin, these ingredients make for an incredibly strong substance that resists the degradation of ultraviolet rays and the daily activities of any rambunctious rhino. ("Rhinoceros…) Ivory comes from a few different animals (including the elusive narwhal), but the ivory in the tusks of the African elephant specifically is highly desirably because unlike the Asian elephant, it continues to grow through the pachyderm's life. This makes for easy carving and tusks big enough to break records at 349 cm.
As a species we have been very clever with horns and ivory. Traders used to spread rumors that rhino horn made for an excellent aphrodisiac to spur interest in Europe, however there has been no scientific evidence to support this claim. (Dufffy 116) Even with this myth disproved, ivory and rhino horn really can be turned into a wide variety of things. The popular phrase "tickling the ivory" is a direct reference to the animals who gave their lives in the name of music. Today the "need" for billiard balls, jewelry, and ornaments continues to drive the illegal trade of ivory. In Yemen, daggers with handles made of rhino horn are a right of passage and a sign of "devotion to the Muslim religion." ("Rhinoceros…) With such high demand, there is no wonder why species of rhino and elephant have been nearly driven to extinction.
Due to the wide range of migrational patterns, it is difficult to tell exactly how many elephants and rhinoceroses are left on the planet today, but astounding statistics regarding their numbers are easily obtained and subsequently presented here. "…between 1970 and 1992, the black rhino population decreased by 96 percent according to the International Rhino Foundation." (Duffy 115) According to the University of Washington Center for Conservation Biology, the elephant population is dwindling at a rate of 8% a year. Between 1979 and 1987 their numbers went from a proud 1.3 million to only a half million. It is more than clear that these illegal poaching practices are unsustainable, and moreover incredibly dangerous to the existence of rhino and elephant species around the world.
In America, rhinos and elephants are mostly zoo-bound animals. This fact makes it hard to realize the damage that has been done to their populations. However, this submarket of old floats on the blood and massive corpses of some of the world's most glorious creatures. Few people keep animal extinction in their minds above daily priorities, but even a little thought and effort can help. If not for the animals themselves, a personal interest in this case can be found in the cessation of violence and gratuitous death for material gains.
Although the devastation that humankind has brought about has many outlets both land and living, it is important to slow the rate of (to put it bluntly) slaughter that has been allowed to continue for so long. Large pachyderms may not have a personal impact on us, but this is where I have chosen to step in and lend my support. If yet another species travels from Appendix I to complete extinction, where will the simplification, the illegal simplification, of biodiversity stop?
As a crusader of information, I am coming after two audiences. The people who either don't know or don't understand the magnitude of this issue are who I will strike down (with knowledge) first. Uninformed people get nothing done, and with their ignorance they allow injustice to continue without a hitch. The next group I am interested in enlisting the help of is comprised of some people who know about the issues, and some people who are blissfully unaware of the African and Asian animals that are having the horns and tusks torn from their bodies. This second audience is completely made of the people in charge. They are really important in the informing process because they can make change happen. With the support of my first audience, we will make the people in charge listen to our issue. From there they have the power to make changes to the system so rhinos and elephants will never again have to die in ditches as blood pours from their missing horn holes.
There will always be a handful of criminals ready to break a new law, and the bans in place for wildlife legislation are treated no differently. Currently, there is an international ban from 1989 set up to completely restrict the sale and trade of ivory. However, what with relatively low penalties and scant accounts of detection, powerful groups that regularly commit and benefit from wide ranges of crime see animal crime as a lucrative business. These groups have started stockpiling ivory to increase demand. The ban has also resulted in parks like South Africa's Kruger National Park with massive stockpiles of ivory worth millions of dollars. There have been suggestions made that stockpiles of ivory should be burned because it will stop the circulation of illegal ivory.
The burning of these stockpiles is an idea shot down by a few individuals in the intellectual community. It has been said that it will not stop the trade and sale of ivory, but instead have the opposite effect. It is illogical to imagine ruining a pile that cost so many animals their lives when the only affect it would have on the rogue animal killing community would be to encourage them to slaughter even more. At least with the piles still in tact there is a chance for the merchandise to be circulated again. In fact some are even preparing for it. It has been many years since the ban was put in place and the people in charge at Kruger's are still ready, at a moments notice, to start pushing ivory again in the event of the ban being lifted. (Price)
What I believe would help to fix the heinous crime rate in this field is first moving this issue higher up on the importance level. It will never be brought to a stop when poaching is getting ignored for "higher priority crimes." If we move it at least into the radar of law enforcement, we will be in good shape. Now, I understand that even when these groups are getting caught, they are doing such so infrequently and with so few repercussions that it is well worth the risk. So the next step in my plan is to bump up the penalty for getting caught in the act of poaching and smuggling illegal ivory/rhino horns. With criminals getting caught and punished at a higher rate, I expect poaching rates to go way down. Criminals will realize that a life in jail is not worth money they would've made through the sale of their illegal goods.
"It is that range of biodiversity that we must care for
- the whole thing- rather than just a few stars."
- David Attenborough
Rhinos and elephants are being driven to extinction. The people taking their lives are doing so with not so much as an inconvenience. When they get caught it is infrequent and few negative drawbacks. Although efforts have been put in place to keep them alive and breed them back to a safe place, the crime rate continues to rise as these animals' numbers dwindle to the lowest in our history. The solution is not to be found in bans and torching stockpiles of ivory. We must put a higher importance on this issue. The detection rate of this crime needs to be higher and the punishment must be made much steeper.
The sale and trade of illegal ivory is one of the most important environmental issues of today's world. When we turn our heads we allow the decimation of the necessary species that hold together the vital process of biodiversity. This is preventable. Our children should not have to learn about these beasts the way we have learned about dinosaurs. So get involved and stop the horror committed in the name of greed and want.
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