Horrible News
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Tsem Rinpoche
‘Record ivory seizures’ in 2011
By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 12/29/2011
The past 12 months have seen a record number of large ivory seizures across the world, a leading wildlife watchdog said Thursday, saying it had been a “horrible year for elephants”.
TRAFFIC, which runs the ETIS database of illegal ivory trades, said there had been at least 13 large-scale seizures in 2011, totalling at least 23 tonnes of ivory — representing about 2,500 elephants.
This compares to just six large seizures in 2010, weighing a total of just under 10 tonnes, and confirms a sharp rise in the trade evident since 2007.
“In 23 years of compiling ivory seizure data for ETIS, this is the worst year ever for large ivory seizures — 2011 has truly been a horrible year for elephants,” said Tom Milliken, TRAFFIC’s elephant expert.
The watchdog warned that once the details of hundreds of smaller ivory seizures were collated, “2011 could well prove to be the worst year ever for elephants” since the ETIS database was set up in 1989.
Most illegal shipments of African elephant ivory end up in either China, where it is ground up and used in traditional medicine, or in Thailand, the watchdog said, with Malaysia the most frequent transit country.
Milliken said the increasing quantities of ivory being traded, many of them from either Kenyan or Tanzanian ports, reflected a rising demand in Asia as well as the increased sophistication of the criminal gangs who sell it.
They constantly change their routes to Asia to avoid detection, including switching from air to sea freight, and once the ivory products arrive, their documentation is amended to conceal the fact that they came from Africa.
“As most large-scale ivory seizures fail to result in any arrests, I fear the criminals are winning,” Milliken said.
International trade in elephant ivory was banned in 1990, and ETIS (the Elephant Trade Information System) holds the details of more than 17,000 reported ivory and other elephant product seizures across the world since then.
Source: http://news.malaysia.msn.com/top-stories/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5705013, 30-12-2011
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Tonnes of ivory have been seized in large-scale seizures, in many parts of the world. In Africa, South East Asian countries large-scale seizures of ivory .Sad Malaysia is one of the country that involved in these trade. Due to the selfishness of human being , elephants has been killed just for their ivory, many of which involve organised criminal syndicates. The illegal ivory trade continues to drive elephant poaching. Large ivory seizures in Africa and Asia are still a commonplace. With illegal trade in ivory continue , it will be a major threat to the species survival, soon or later into extinction. Glad to known more can to done to stop these with conservation groups, wildlife officials, and governments are increasing international cooperation doing their part to stamp out the global ivory market. Through their efforts that include improving wildlife ranger security, deploying anti-poaching drones, and taking more accurate elephant counts. They even ban trade in elephant ivory and made it a international law.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
It is horrible for these people to keep killing the elephants to get the trunk. In fact those who created the demand are us the buyers. Stop buying animal products, it is not necessary to kill and hurt the animals for our own satisfaction. There are many alternatives products available in the market. I hope the local authority of each country will take stern action against all the poachers, hunters and illegal traders. It is only with laws and enforcement that will stop all this cruel act.
It is so sick that people would do these to animals… Why would anyone want ivory for? I know some people actually use ivory to carve into a decorative item and some people use it as some medicinal properties.
But whatever it is used for, cutting off the tusks of an elephant and leaving it to die is just plain animal cruelty and inhumane. Although there are many animal rights groups that actively protest and create awareness about the sufferings and cruelty behind ivory, it is just not enough to stop the greed of mankind.
I hope people who read this post will stop any attempt of buying ivory for any purpose…
For our short term enjoyment, we ended one’s life, for our moment of ‘pleasure’ we ended one’s life, everyday we used animal made product, life is being killed, if not, where do you think this things came from?
Many people say, I’m not the one that kill, even if I don’t buy, other people will still buy, the animal is already dead, with this thinking, it is even worse than those who kill, we are just plainly ignorant and selfish to have this kind of thought.
Put a stop to this kind of killing, if we stop buying, there is one less demand, if more people stop buying, there will be much lesser demand, and when one person influence another, the number will increase, and hence, without demand, killing will stop. Everything is started by one person, if we don’t start, wait for who?
Since young I have asked the elders, the benefits of drinking weird drinks that is supposed to make them healthier. For the sake of myself, do I need to sacrifice others? If I am worried about my health, I should do something to take care of it earlier rather than take something that is not even scientifically proven effective. Have a balanced diet and exercise. Please be kind to all beings…
So sad to come across this news. How do people feel when they got their nose cut off?? It’s horrible to do things like that when u know that it hurts. Animals have feelings too. Why can’t people feel that? People should stop consuming ivory substances. It’s time for people to realise that animals DO HAVE feelings. Thank You for sharing Rinpoche.
Love, beatrix.
This is truly horrible news to read. Why do people do things like this? Do they like to torture animals? Its terrible. I wish thing like this will never happen again. Please be kind to animals. There is no need to hurt them. They dont do anything to us. Do they? i dont think so. So this has to stop.
It’s extremely sad to know the increased number of ivory seizures. I remember when I was in Hong Kong, I can easy see big and huge ivory displayed at the shops’ windows with a sign not for sale. But as I know people still buying ivory from the shops. I was told that was mammoth’s ivory and it is allowed to sell in the market, which I find it hard to believe.
Although the trade was band but if the demands still there, they will still be elephant killing in the world. Please stop buying Ivory.
Greed in humans can push people to do things that causes much harms on others. In this example, we see the precious lives of elephants which were killed for their ivories.
Just like shark fins soup, lives of animals are killed in order to satisfy human beings’s urges – such as pleasures or ego.
I believe education is important, in both developed and developing worlds. And those in the developed world should take leadership role in this to curb this trend – when there is lesser demand, there will be lesser supply.
I used to think stuff made of elephant tusks are nice and has a smooth texture. Until I watched the documentary “Earthlings” – WHAT a horrible thinking! Things made from another being’s tooth! How could anyone do this to fellow sentient being? What happens if elephants started to use human tooth for carvings ?
STOP the ivory trade NOW!
Sometime human really scary than hunger ghost or wild animal, because of our own profitable, we can killed 2500 elephants a year without thinking, no feeling at all and cold.
Of course we all know at African, many countries are very poor, people at there even cannot feed their children, many of them died because of hunger, died because of no food! From karmic view, my thinking is may be the people at there committed too killing activities, so the law of cause and effect manifest immediately.
I think the cause and effect of killing was very heavy karma we need to pay back. No matter this thought is true or not, I think is doesn’t matter, but the most important is we need to put afford to reduce killing animal activities in the world. Let’s us work together fight for it.
Yek yee, I agree with your feelings on this, but we should all be aware that there is more than enough food produced to feed all the world. ppl are starving because they can’t get the food, most of the starving ppl are in countries which produce and export food to the west, the real problem is the multinational food companies which force farmers to produce cash crops while their own people starve. Also the disgraceful way these conmpanies force farmers tro use more and more chemicals so that the food we get in the west is slowly becoming more and more posionous to us. These companies will stop at nothing to maximise their profits and they have western governments in their pockets.
As an attraction to financial incentive & gains, illegal animals poachings are made more rapid. Poachers killed animals for their skins, hides, organs, eyes, teeth, nails etc etc., and especially elephants for their precious ivory tusks. Poaching has been a serious problem in national wild-life parks, where endangered species are supposed to be protected, but often said to end up highest on poachers’ wanted list due to high demand and financial value. Elephant poaching is said to be the most popular due to its lucrative ivory tusks, which attract high black market prices. Elephants are said to be family oriented and run in packs or herds when poachers attack them. A mass chaos will arise many young elephants and even the baby elephants are being stampeded to death, if not slaugthered by the cruel poachers. This illegality in trade and its high black market pricing has created a lot of “illegal Black Marketers”. Nevertheless, at the end, the golden law of Karma prevails as our Lord Buddha has said, “He who has a hundred greed or desire(for things), has a hundred sufferings; He who has ninety…….ten…..five…two dear(things), has ninety…….ten…..five…two sufferings.”
It is getting more and more cruel. People know about what happens to the elephant but they buy or use it anyway. They just go over it. It is not clear enough to them what happens to the animals. It makes me think about the “foie gras” which can be bought in every show and it is so extravagant but how it is produced, people don’t want to know too much.
Never ending killing news! Or news that animals’ being abuse! As so call highly intelligent beings in this planet, we-human suppose to be a protector, instead; to feed our greediness, our ego we killed the weak animals.
Thinking about karma, if karma is rotating. One life you killed me, next life i killed you, its going to be never ending story…
Really sad to hear this news. People should stop buying ivory made products. This will eventually stop the supply. It would be really sad to see the elephants extinct from the earth if this illegal trade continues.
The Rhinos are also an animal which faces threat as they are killed for their horns.
When will humans ever wake up!