(Posted 17th June 2024)
Courtesy of African Elephant News / Stenews and Ntombi Mavimbela, SABC News
Wildlife organisation Wild Africa Fund has welcomed the news of the decline in elephant poaching but warns that the threat to Africa’s elephants persists.
This, as a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has revealed that elephant poaching is on the decline. The reduction of cases has been linked to the closure of key domestic ivory markets which has significantly reduced demand.
Wild Africa Fund CEO and co-founder, Peter Knights says even though the conviction of high-level traffickers across Africa and Asia has limited the flow of illegal ivory, reporting wildlife crime and saying ‘NO’ to poaching must continue.
“I wish we could pack up and go home with some of these issues but unfortunately the pressures persist. Where there’s money to be made, people will try and find various means to make that money. So it is encouraging that we’ve been doing the right thing and that there has been more awareness from consumers. If people want a product, it drives the demand but if the demand is reduced it has a negative impact. So although it is very good news, elephants face a number of other pressures from climate change, human/wildlife conflict amongst others. We have to keep fighting to keep the elephant numbers up in order to protect them and the economy because they contribute to tourism in African economies.”
