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Elephant Tusks On Parade

Southern Africa opened an auction of existing ivory stockpiles Tuesday, selling off more than 220,000 pounds of what's ordinarily contraband in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The nations plan to sell the confiscated, poached tusks to approved Chinese and Japanese entities, and return the funds they earn to existing environmental conservation efforts.

The whole things strikes us as a bit counter-intuitive, like PETA hosting a pig roast fund raiser to promote vegan lifestyles. But if the pig’s already dead, then why not right? No point in letting good tusks go to waste.

Opponents say the sales could reignite a dying trade, and warn that the ivory could eventually end up in the wrong hands, particularly in China where the rules appear particularly lax. The potential bounty from the sales could be as high as $30 million: We hope our surviving trunked friends see a chunk of the cash.

Related Stories:
· Controversial Ivory Sale to Open [BBC]
· Addo Elephant National Park [Jaunted]

[Photo: rocky0009]