Despite an international ban on trade in ivory, elephant poaching is on the rise, driven by a demand for ivory in Asia and other markets, including the USA, where ownership is seen as a sign of wealth and status. Illicit wildlife trade has serious implications:
- One elephant is killed every 15 minutes for its ivory.
- Criminal syndicates are involved and terrorist groups are known to be using ivory to fund activities, a threat to national and global security.
- In countries and communities reliant on wildlife tourism, millions of people risk losing their livelihoods.
- Over 1,000 wildlife rangers have been killed in the course of protecting wildlife over the last decade.
To the House of Commons in Parliament Assembled
We, the undersigned, as citizens of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following:
THAT
Elephant poaching in Africa has reached critical levels. Elephants are being killed for their ivory at a rate of one every 15 minutes. According to a recent continent-wide survey, African forest elephant populations in particular declined by an estimated 62% between 2002 and 2011. At this rate African Forest elephants will be extinct within 10 years.
Much of the poaching is being carried out by ruthless and violent militia groups, including the Lord’s Resistance Army, Janjaweed and Al-Shabaab, that use the profits to fund arms purchases. Ivory poaching is therefore a direct contributor to political instability and loss of human life in Africa. The trade, mostly destined for China, has been directly linked to large-scale organized crime.
Therefore your petitioners call upon the Parliament of Canada to adopt a unanimous motion to:
SUPPORT the implementation of the African Elephant Action Plan and to provide financial contributions to the African Elephant Fund as called for in CITES Resolution Conf. 16.9;
ASSIST both African and Asian elephant range States to improve their capacity to manage and conserve their elephant populations, including through community-based actions, improved law enforcement, surveys, habitat protection and monitoring of wild populations, as called for in CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP. 16);
SUPPORT by any means possible, including financial contributions, provision of training and materiel, cooperation with relevant international law enforcement and customs agencies including INTERPOL, and support for education and demand reduction programs in end-market countries, international efforts to combat poaching of elephants and illegal trade in ivory.
DESTROY Canada’s stockpile of confiscated ivory to enforce the message that ivory is not a legitimate consumer product.
