London: Elephants and rhinos could be wiped out within the next two decades due to poaching conservation campaigners have warned.
According to reports more than 35,000 elephants and 1,000 rhinos were killed to fulfil the demand for ivory and rhino horn last year.
On Saturday, 136 cities and towns across six continents from Soweto to Nairobi, and Paris to New York and Tokyo joined the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos.
From 27 million elephants 350 years ago, Africa now has about 400,000 left, and roughly 9% of those are being killed each year.
South Africa, home to the world’s largest rhino populations, has seen at least 700 killed so far this year.
Poaching of the rare African animal is increasing to meet demand from Asian countries where the horn has long been used in traditional medicines for a variety of ailments, including fever and rheumatism.
While elephants are killed across Africa for their tusks, which are prized, especially in China, for use in making decorations and trinkets.
Among the countries under scrutiny are China, Vietnam, Laos, Mozambique, Angola and Kenya.
“We are protesting against the political leaders of the world, who do not have the guts and political will to make changes in their laws,” Dex Kotze, one of the march organisers, told AFP.
“These countries need to change their laws,” Kotze said, singling out China, which he said must shut its 37 ivory carving factories and 130 retail outlets, or “we will lose all the elephants”.
Kotze said that wildlife crime is worth an estimated $20 billion (16 million euros) a year and that “terrorist organisations like Al-Shebab are using ivory trafficking and exchange ivory for weapons.”
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Photo courtesy: Ross Huggett; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode
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