Update May 4, 2008
3 more elephants killed in Virunga today, (total dead now 17) from Baraza's blog, click here


Posted May 3, 2008 by Colleen


Patsy, Toronto Zoo

We’ve all heard a great deal lately about the illegal ivory trade funding rebels, militias and armies and I posted a few days ago about Zimbabawe’s exchange of ivory for weapons with China.

Hot on the heels of that story was the depressing news about 14 elephants poached in the Congo. There is an excellent article that gives a great deal of insight into this situation published in Voice of America, May 2, 2008, Fueling World Ivory Trade Spells New Threat to Africa's Elephant Population.

Wildlife Direct's Emmanuel de Morode, who has worked to try and save Virunga National Park's gorillas and quell the bushmeat trade in eastern Congo is quoted putting the elephant deaths into context:

"There's a belief that the ivory market is going to open up. As a result, certain groups are going in to kill elephants. This isn't limited to Virunga. It is believed to be pretty widespread across the Congo Basin. There's been a massive reduction reported in (Congo's) Garamba National Park in the last few years. And this is a park that recently had 12,000 elephants and is now estimated to have less than half of that number."

He also talks about the recent killings coinciding with South Africa lifting its 13-year moratorium on elephant culling and of China's rising presence in the region stimulating the ivory market.

You can listen to an interview and discussion with Emmanuel de Morode by clicking on the links below. It includes a discussion of this crisis for elephants including the potential impact of South Africa's possible resumption of culling on the entire elephant population in Africa.

Wildlife Direct's Emmanuel de Morode - Download (MP3)
Wildlife Direct's Emmanuel de Morode - Listen (MP3)
Wildlife Direct's Emmanuel de Morode - Download (Real)
Wildlife Direct's Emmanuel de Morode - Listen (Real)

These links are also embedded in the article.

Related Blog Entries
Ivory for Arms
How our Gadgets Cause Death in the Congo
Militias and Warlords use poaching of endangered species to fund death
South Africa to sanction killing of elephants

Related Article
From the BBC dated April 28, 2008,
Congolese saw U.N. peacekeepers arming militias, refuting U.N. probe findings (read more)
an excerpt: "Peacekeepers from Pakistan and India smuggled gold and ivory — and gave arms to militias fighting in eastern Congo in return, the British Broadcasting Corp. alleged Monday, saying it had new witness accounts refuting U.N. claims that no weapons transfers had taken place."