Since the 2000’s, an elephant poaching epidemic has raged across Africa, with populations in some areas decimated and multiple species increasingly at risk of being wiped out byhumanity’s lust for ivory.Currently going for about $3,300 per pound, the global trade in ivory is worth about $23 billion annually, a reality made plain by the gruesome photos of butchered elephants that havebecome almost commonplace. In recent years, massive seizures of ivory seemed to signal a headlong rush toward extermination.In response, the European Union this year proposed a near total ban on the trade of ivory anywhere in the bloc. In combination with existing restrictions in China and U.S., the proposedrules might help build momentum toward a global clampdown, shifting scrutiny to Southeast Asia, where much of the remaining trade has moved.
展开▼
