Event Helped Raise Awareness of Elephant Poaching Crisis and Illegal Ivory Trade
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance hosted a “Toss the Tusk” event at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in San Diego, Calif., on 3 March to help raise awareness about the devastating effects of elephant poaching. The event, organized by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Wildlife Trafficking Alliance (WTA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, encouraged the public to surrender unwanted ivory products to help ensure that their availability will not drive demand for the product. By the end of the event, 222 items were surrendered, totaling approximately 25 pounds.
The event kicked off with Paul A. Baribault, president and chief executive officer of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, welcoming special guest California Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins and representatives from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife Service, who shared information about the critical work being done to end illegal wildlife trafficking.
“Conservation is a team effort, and we are so pleased to host our conservation partners for Toss the Tusk, an incredibly important event highlighting wildlife trafficking and the challenges facing elephants,” said Baribault. “Moments like these create hope for Earth’s gentle giants—the landscape engineers of our shared ecosystem—and remind us that we can all play a role in securing a future for elephants and wildlife worldwide.”
During the daylong “Toss the Tusk” event, guests had the opportunity to meet U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife law enforcement staff, who shared information about elephant conservation and illegal wildlife trade. Law enforcement detection canines were also present, and examples of ivory products were on display.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance scientists participated in the event, providing details about the Alliance’s deep commitment to protecting and conserving African savanna elephants. That work includes supporting efforts in Kenya led by local communities to promote coexistence between people and elephants using wildlife health and science applications.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance partners with Save the Elephants, a nonprofit conservation organization based in Kenya, to conserve elephants in Africa. “We congratulate the organizers of the Toss the Tusk event for encouraging Americans to surrender their ivory,” said Frank Pope, chief executive officer of Save the Elephants. “While poaching has been reduced across much of Africa’s continent, the illegal ivory trade remains an ever-present threat to elephants. If people continue to value ivory, poachers will continue to kill elephants.”
Worldwide demand for ivory is decimating elephant populations and supporting international criminal syndicates around the globe. Thousands of elephants are killed each year for their ivory. As a result, African elephant populations have decreased from an estimated 12 million a century ago to around 415,000 individuals remaining in 2016. Due to global conservation efforts, poaching rates have steadily declined across Africa over the past few years. However, elephants are still being lost faster than they can reproduce.
International commercial trade in elephant ivory is prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In the United States, elephants are protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The African Elephant Conservation Act and other laws further restrict the ivory trade. In 2016, a near-total ban on the commercial trade of African elephant ivory went into effect in the United States.
California Assembly Bill 96—legislation introduced by Sen. Atkins—prohibits the import and sale of elephant ivory and rhino horns in California. Though the state has prohibited the sale of ivory since 1977, a loophole rendered the law unenforceable. AB 96 closed that loophole and now allows the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to enforce the law. California is one of the largest markets for the sale of illegal ivory in the United States.
However, none of these regulations restrict the personal possession of ivory. If individuals already own ivory, such as an heirloom carving that has been passed down in a family or a vintage musical instrument with ivory components, they can still legally own those pieces. By surrendering elephant ivory, individuals can ensure that these products will never be made available for sale. Removing ivory products from the market can keep elephants alive for generations to come.
African savanna elephants are listed as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. They face many threats in their native habitats, including poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation, challenges to human-elephant coexistence, and competition for resources. Elephants are essential in maintaining ecosystems, benefiting other wildlife and people.
For decades, conserving African elephants has been a high priority for San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Scientific field studies conducted in Africa and with the elephant herds at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park provide a unique opportunity to increase the understanding of the species and, working with partners in Kenya, help develop conservation solutions that can be applied in elephants’ native habitats.
In addition to the Toss the Tusk event at the Safari Park, AZA WTA, and USFWS will hold two additional Toss the Tusk events in 2023: at Dallas Zoo on 14 April and the Saint Louis Zoo on 11 August. For more information, visit https://www.aza.org/wta-toss-the-tusk
Photos Credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
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