Save Elephants from poaching

[Paul]

I'm a passionate advocate for elephants and am appalled at the current slaughter of these magnificent animals for their ivory. Are there like-minded people in the group?
Paul

[Stewart, Moderator]

I have worked in an Elephant Sanctuary for domestic elephants in Thailand. They are intelligent, highly social animals with a sophisticated communication system.In the wild they live in small herds, usually led by an experienced female. I also train and rescue dogs in Thailand, and would say that elephants are even more intelligent than dogs, but more difficult to train.African Elephants are just as intelligent as Asian Elephants.The Carthaginian General, Hannibal used trained African Elephants in his famous campaign against Rome between 218 & 203 BC.This involved trekking with his whole army and the elephants through the Pyrenees and the Alps.

All elephants should be protected and respected, and their habitats should be preserved. Slaughtering these beautiful creatures for profit to make a few ivory trinkets is an obscenity and should be stopped.

[Elaine]

Sale of ivory in the USA has been banned for over a decade. Yes, it concerns me, and so does the persecution of all non-pet animals in the world, but what can you do if people keep birthing babies they can't feed. 10 billion humans are just too many for the world to hold and share among species. My research is on dogs, but I also read scientific articles on the emotions and minds of other nonhuman species. Even mice have feelings and a rich social life. Do you get rid of mice in your house by using glue traps? The mice die a slow, agonizing death in such traps, which all exterminators I have polled use. See my blog:http://dogsandwolves-smartoldlady.blo...

[Paul]

I watched a captivating documentary called 'Earthlings' recently, which focuses on how man as a species has divorced himself from other species. We seek to plunder the world's resources with no concept of sustainability. We are in David Attenborough's words a 'plague on the earth'. The slaughter of elephants, rhinos and other precious animals is a symptom of this disregard. An African elephant is killed every 15 minutes for its ivory, driven by demand mainly from China. Numbers have reduced from millions to some 200,000, with many naturalists now predicting that the African elephant will be extinct within 10 years. Elephants are soulful, intelligent creatures with complex social structures. Sadly they have no defense against the poacher's bullet, which is why they need our protection.

[Elaine]

And how do we protect them? Are you going to mov to Africa. If so, bring a big gun. The poachers--and the farmers who farm where the elephants historically migrated--hate them so much, they'd happily shoot you, too. China? Yeah. I saw a lot of ivory in China.. But would the US government make the Chinese respect the ban on ivory? That's the best way to save elephants. Make their killing non-profitable. Also, the US might try to help[ the farmers, who are also poaching elephants, to relocate.

[Stewart, Moderator]

The article below and the follow up comments discuss some of the ways to end poaching and the illegal ivory trade.

http://www.theguardian.com/environmen...

Here are some excerpts from the article...

Ivory stockpile in Denver to be publicly destroyed as Obama seeks to end illegal trade.

TV cameras to record smashing of tusks and intricately carved items – but African elephants are already on brink of extinction.

US security officials say the global trade in illegal ivory has grown to $10bn (about £6.2bn) a year – just behind drugs and human trafficking. The huge profit potential has also turned ivory into an important line of financing for terrorist networks such as al-Shabaab, the al-Qaida affiliate that carried out September's attack on the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi.

[Stewart, Moderator]

Microsoft billionaire to fund Pan African elephant survey

Dec 04, 2013
One of the founders of Microsoft, Paul Allen, has expressed his grave concern for the fate of Africa's elephants by adding his financial weight to their protection. He announced today [Dec 4] that his family trust will fund an Africa-wide survey to establish how many elephants remain...

...read the rest of the article here:

http://www.eturbonews.com/40353/micro...

[Inge]

Stewart wrote: "Microsoft billionaire to fund Pan African elephant survey..."

Thanks for the link, Stewart. I put it on my blog with a little article of my own.

[Barbara, Founder and Moderator]

I totally agree. These animals should be protected. I just love elephants. I hate to see these wonderful animals chained up.

[Paul]

Echo and the Magical Whispers is in the poll for the group March read. I'd be grateful for your support if you have a chance to vote.

Save the Elephant!
Paul
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/9...

[Barbara, Founder and Moderator]

Yes, it is Paul. Thanks.

[Kami]

how do u like this beautiful elephant book:

https://www.behance.net/gallery/learn...

:):)