It is estimated that elephants in the wild will be extinct in ten years or less from an unprecedented demand for ivory worldwide. 35,000 elephants are killed each year, 100 each day and 1 every 15 minutes. Prior to 1970 an estimated 1.3 million elephants inhabited the wild. Today their numbers are estimated to be less than 400,000. The loss of elephants in Africa threatens global ecosystems and the geopolitical stability of the African continent; smuggling operations by international criminal cartels and the scale of poaching has become an incomprehensible horror. Profits accrued by the illicit sale of ivory are enormous, poaching is literally sponsoring terrorism and threatening our national security.
California should be a leader in ending the slaughter of elephants. But instead, our state is contributing to this crisis as the third largest ivory market in the United States, with hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The People of SOUTH CAROLINA, therefore, respectfully demand:
• That new, unambiguous legislation be established prohibiting the trade in all forms and categories of ivory in the state of SOUTH CAROLINA.
• That appropriate authorities confiscate and destroy all forms and categories of illegal ivory products currently on the open market in SOUTH CAROLINA ensuring SOUTH CAROLINA Fish and Wildlife Service enforce the state’s current laws governing the trade in ivory.
