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Hunger for ivory leaves 50,000 African elephants dead in two years
Sapa-AFP | 06 March, 2013 14:46
African elephants face the worst crisis since global trade in ivory was banned almost a quarter-century ago, with the risk of extinction rising in worst-hit nations, conservationists said Wednesday.
Illicit trade in ivory -- driven by organised crime rings -- has doubled since 2007 and more than tripled over the past 15 years, experts warned on the sidelines of a major conference on endangered species in Bangkok.
"Current population estimates suggest alarming declines in elephant numbers in parts of Central and West Africa, as well as an increasing risk of the local extinction of some populations," according to the report by the UN Environment Programme and other wildlife groups.
"Previously secure populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are under growing threat, as a wave of poaching seems to be spreading east and southwards across the African continent."
...
Conservationists fear that 2012 was an even deadlier year for African elephants than 2011, when an estimated 25,000 of the animals perished.
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Full text:
Sapa-AFP | 06 March, 2013 14:46
African elephants face the worst crisis since global trade in ivory was banned almost a quarter-century ago, with the risk of extinction rising in worst-hit nations, conservationists said Wednesday.
Illicit trade in ivory -- driven by organised crime rings -- has doubled since 2007 and more than tripled over the past 15 years, experts warned on the sidelines of a major conference on endangered species in Bangkok.
"Current population estimates suggest alarming declines in elephant numbers in parts of Central and West Africa, as well as an increasing risk of the local extinction of some populations," according to the report by the UN Environment Programme and other wildlife groups.
"Previously secure populations in Eastern and Southern Africa are under growing threat, as a wave of poaching seems to be spreading east and southwards across the African continent."
...
Conservationists fear that 2012 was an even deadlier year for African elephants than 2011, when an estimated 25,000 of the animals perished.
...
Full text:
