The poaching of elephants in sub-Saharan African has now reached 'an industrial scale'. Whole herds of elephants are being slaughtered - shot or poisoned so that their tusks can be hacked off. The young calves are left defenceless and to starve as they have no valuable tusks. In September a huge herd of 90 elephants were poisoned in Zimbabwe by poachers. Herds are being wiped out in Kenya at an alarming rate.
The reason? So that their ivory can be made into trinkets for markets in the Far East.
Elephant herds comprise of mainly breeding females of different ages and their offspring. The herd is led by the most mature and most experienced female. It is she who has the knowledge of routes to water and food during different times of year and from whom the others learn. These family groups teach the young how to survive the dangers of the bush and keep young males in check until they are expelled from the herd once they reach maturity. The senseless slaughter of these adults leaves behind helpless traumatised orphans who will suffer without this shared knowledge. (See photo of a rescued calf.)
An elephant is a highly intelligent animal living within a social and hierarchical group. If we stand by and do nothing, within ten years wild elephants will no longer be roaming Africa.
Please sign this petition to show that the hunting of these magnificent beasts to produce ivory ornaments is totally unacceptable and abhorrent in the modern world.
