KOCHI: The decision by the Donald Trump administration in the US allowing hunters to import big-game trophies — elephant tusks — from Africa to the American mainland should have set off alarm bells in the African states. Instead, it is nearer home in the state's forests bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka — which has the largest concentration of jumbos in the country, with poaching still a major problem confronting the law enforcement agencies — where Washington's decision has sparked concern.
It is with a great deal of trepidation conservationists and greens are viewing the unfolding scenario since Trump's move to allow the import of body parts of African jumbos shot for sport will have a direct and indirect bearing on the subcontinent.
PS Easa, wildlife expert and former member of the Steering Committee of the Project Elephant Task Force, said though Washington's decision pertains to the import of 'elephant trophies' from Africa it will, nonetheless, have a ripple effect on the global illegal wildlife trafficking markets in countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Despite the global illegal ‘elephant trophy’ trade comprising mainly of body parts of African elephants, there is great demand for the Asian ‘elephant trophies’ which are superior to their African counterparts in terms of elegance and quality on the international market. With Washington now legalising the trade, the demand for ivory artifacts is also expected to go up, apparently leading to a rise in incidents of elephant poaching in forests across the country, he said.
Sangita Iyer, the Kerala-born wildlife filmmaker now based in Canada, termed the US decision shocking which will promote the global illegal wildlife trafficking trade estimated at $26 billion. The regressive move by Washington could also be set a wrong precedent and potentially embolden poachers world over, she said. In Kerala, the Forest Department had earlier sought a CBI probe into the Edamalayar elephant poaching case after the names of some bigwigs involved in the transnational ivory trade came out during a departmental inquiry. However, the Centre is yet to decide on the state’s demand. As many as 20 carcasses of jumbos killed by the poachers had been recovered by the foresters in the case. Though all the accused in the case were booked by the Forest Department, their suspected global links had not been looked into.
Demand for Asian trophy
There is great demand for the Asian 'elephant trophies' which are superior to their African counterparts in terms of elegance and quality on the global market