By Natasha Loder
July-September 2007 / Vol. 8 No. 3
Discussion Questions
- Under current conditions, what do you predict would be the implications for elephant populations of a complete removal of the ban on the ivory trade?
- Do you think legal harvesting of elephant ivory should be allowed in areas where elephant over-population is a problem? Is translocating elephant populations a potential alternate solution for mitigating human/elephant conflicts?
- What actions or policies might act to decrease the demand for elephant ivory in places where the illegal trade is currently booming?
Websites for Further Information
- African elephant specialist group: http://www.african-elephant.org/
- International Fund for Animal Welfare: http://www.ifaw.org/
- US Fish and Wildlife Service National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory: http://www.fws.gov/lab/ivory.php
Elephant Conservation in the News
- Crackdown on eBay ivory sales:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/06/1943491.htm - CITES deal wins reprieve for elephants: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/ endangered-species/dn12066-cites-deal-wins-reprieve-for-elephants.html
- Could plant ivory save elephants?: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/04/26/vegivory/index.html
Peer-reviewed Literature
- DeSalle, R., and G. Amato. 2004. The expansion of conservation genetics. Nature Reviews Genetics 5: 702-712.
- Clarke, S.C., J.E. Magnussen, D.L. Abercrombie, M.K. McAllister, and M.S. Shivji. 2006. Identification of shark species composition and proportion in the Hong Kong shark fin market based on molecular genetics and trade records. Conservation Biology 20: 201-211.
Key Concepts
- Endangered species
- Forensic conservation
- Trade bans
- Conservation payments
