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Thailand About Wildaid THAILAND ABOUT WILDAID ildAid’s mission is to end the illegal wildlife trade in our lifetimes by reducing demand Wthrough public awareness campaigns and providing comprehensive marine protection. The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth over $10 billion (USD) per year and has drastically reduced many wildlife populations around the world. Just like the drug trade, law and enforcement efforts have not been able to resolve the problem. Every year, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent protecting animals in the wild, yet virtually nothing is spent on stemming the demand for wildlife parts and products. WildAid is the only organization with a mission focused on reducing the demand for these products, with the strong and simple message: When the buying stops, the killing can too. Via public service announcements and short-form documentary pieces, WildAid partners with Save the Elephants and African Wildlife Foundation to educate consumers and to reduce the demand for ivory products worldwide. Through our highly leveraged pro-bono media distribution EVERY YEAR, UP TO outlets, our message reaches hundreds of millions of people each year in China alone. www.wildaid.org CONTACT INFORMATION WILDAID 333 Pine Street #300 San Francisco, CA 94104 33,000 ELEPHANTS Tel: 415.834.3174 Christina Vallianos ARE KILLED FOR THEIR IVORY [email protected] PARTNERS Special thanks Save the Elephants to the following supporters & partners African Wildlife Foundation who have made this work possible: PHOTOGRAPHERS Poulomee Basu Kristian Schmidt Vichan Poti Chris Schmid COVER PHOTO Chris Schmid IVORY DEMAND IN THAILAND | wildaid.org/elephants PAGE // 2 PAGE // 3 Baby elephant staying next to its mother in Etosha National Park, Namibia (Chris Schmid) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY rowing affluence in Asia has and control ivory trading and aware that Thailand’s ivory Gproduced a new class of ivory possession by passing the new trade is contributing to the consumers who have reignited Elephant Ivory Act in 2015 and poaching crisis in Africa. Almost demand and stimulated the illegal further demonstrated its dedication half (49%) are unaware that ivory trade, resulting in an to ending the illegal trade by Thailand is one of the main escalating poaching crisis. A study destroying over 2 tons of confiscated destinations for illegal African published in July 2014 found that ivory in August last year. ivory and more than 60% do not more than 100,000 elephants were know that ivory poaching is While Thai people are not considered illegally killed in Africa between linked to terrorist groups and to be the main buyers of ivory 2010 and 2012, about 33,630 each international organized crime. products, the country’s legal domestic year.1 The African forest elephant, trade has stimulated demand from An overwhelming majority of in particular, has suffered a drastic tourists, especially those from respondents (96%) say they are not decline in its population: in February mainland China and Hong Kong likely to buy ivory products in the 2014, scientists announced that 65% which perpetuates the poaching crisis future and 93% pledge never to buy. of forest elephants were poached in Africa. Illegal ivory is laundered, Though 93% of Thais support between 2002 and 2013, leaving crafted into carvings, ornaments and reducing Thailand’s ivory trade, just 95% of the forests of the Democratic jewelry, and sold in the market as 42% support banning all ivory trading. Republic of Congo devoid of legal domesticated ivory. elephants. 2 The survey underlines the potential In July 2015, WildAid, African for changing Thai attitudes and Thailand plays a key role in the global Wildlife Foundation and Save the behavior by increasing awareness of ivory trade as one of the major Elephants conducted a poll by TNS the elephant poaching crisis in Africa markets for ivory consumers, acting Thailand to understand Thailand’s and the link between Thailand’s ivory as both a transit point and destination ivory consumers, overall awareness trade and poaching, and highlights for smuggled ivory. Current Thai law of Africa’s elephant poaching crisis the need to educate the public about allows trading of ivory from and attitudes towards the ivory why regulating the existing domestic domesticated Thai elephants, but the trade in Thailand. trade is not enough to stop illegal market is fuelled by illegal ivory smuggling of ivory. smuggled from Africa. The Thai Survey results show less than government took steps to regulate half (45%) of Thai residents are 1. Wittemyer, G., Northrup, J. M., Douglas-Hamilton, I., et al. “Illegal killing for ivory drives global decline in African elephants.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014. 2. Maisels, F., Strindberg, S., et al. “Massive loss of forest elephants in Central Africa.” WCS, 2014. IVORY DEMAND IN THAILAND | wildaid.org/elephants PAGE // 4 PAGE // 5 Ivory stockpile, Kenya, 2012 (Kristian Schmidt) THREATS TO ELEPHANTS lephants are primarily poached abuse, and African elephant in West, Central and East Africa, and Efor their ivory, which comes from populations fell from more than 1.2 the impacts on elephant populations the tusks of all African and male Asian million to roughly 600,000 by 1989. continue to steadily worsen. A study elephants, and is used for carvings, During the 1980s, a decade referred published in July 2014 found that ornaments, jewelry, trinkets, to as the “Ivory Wars,” at least more than 100,000 elephants were chopsticks and other crafts. While the 700,000 elephants were slaughtered illegally killed in Africa between 2010 use of ivory dates back hundreds of throughout Africa as legal trade and 2012 – a staggering ~33,630 each years, scientists believe ivory has been enabled large-scale laundering of year.4 The African forest elephant in processed on an industrial scale in ivory from poached elephants.3 particular has suffered a drastic decline the last century to supply markets in in its population: In February 2014, In response to this poaching epidemic, the United States, Europe, and in scientists announced that 65% of forest CITES banned the international recent decades, East Asia. elephants were poached between 2002 elephant ivory trade in 1989, but and 2013, leaving 95% of the forests of In 2007, African elephant populations domestic ivory sales continued to be the Democratic Republic of Congo were estimated to be 500,000- legal in some countries. The devoid of elephants.5 700,000, while the estimated Asian international ban initially was a huge elephant population was success: Ivory prices were drastically In addition, CITES allowed "one-off"’ 30,000-50,000. cut, almost eliminating markets in sales of ivory from natural mortality, the U.S. and Europe. Poaching was culls and seizures. The first one-off In 1976, the African elephant was greatly reduced, and elephant sale occurred in 1999, with ivory from listed under Appendix II of the UN populations started to recover. Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe Convention on International Trade in sold exclusively to Japan. In 2008, a Endangered Species (CITES), However, new markets emerged by second sale to Japan included South designed to control and limit trade, 2008 as business ties between Asia Africa’s stockpile and allowed China while in 1975 the Asian elephant was and Africa increased. Economies grew to purchase 62 tons of ivory.6, 7 listed on CITES Appendix I, rapidly in countries including China prohibiting international trade. and created a new class of potential However, the CITES regulatory ivory consumers. Expanding markets system was subject to wide- spread have increased poaching dramatically 3. Walsh, Bryan. “African Nations Move to ‘Downlist’ the Elephant.” Time Magazine Online, 2010. 4. Wittemyer, G., Northrup, J. M., Douglas-Hamilton, I., et al. “Illegal killing for ivory drives global decline in African elephants.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014. 5. Maisels, F., Strindberg, S., et al. “Massive loss of forest elephants in Central Africa.” WCS, 2014. 6. “Experts report highest elephant poaching and ivory smuggling rates in a decade.” www.traffic.org, 2012. 7. Gabriel, G. G., Hua, N., and Wang, J. “Making a Killing: A 2011 Survey of Ivory Markets in China.” International Fund for Animal Welfare, 2012. IVORY DEMAND IN THAILAND | wildaid.org/elephants PAGE // 6 PAGE // 7 2015 THAILAND SURVEY n August 2015, WildAid and its conservation partners African Wildlife Foundation Iand Save the Elephants commissioned a survey conducted by TNS Thailand of 1,000 Thai residents to better understand Thailand’s ivory consumers, overall awareness of Africa’s elephant poaching crisis and attitudes towards ivory trading in Thailand. An official checks for fingerprints and DNA on smuggled elephant tusks. (Photo by Vichan Poti/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) IVORY TRADE IN THAILAND hailand’s ivory market is known to of the 5-point action plan aimed at of this kind - to show its determination Tbe one of the largest and most regulating the legal ivory market (ivory to crackdown on the illegal ivory trade. thriving in the world as local law sourced from domesticated Asian CITES and international conservation allows trading of ivory from elephants). The new law requires ivory groups recognize the considerable domesticated Thai elephants. The traders and ivory owners to register progress Thailand has made over the market is also fuelled by illegal, “newly SURVEY KEY FINDINGS their stocks with authorities. past year, but fear that it may not be poached” ivory laundered from Africa: Subsequently, over 220 tons of ivory enough. Hong Kong’s history has as a significant destination and transit 1. Just 3% of the respondents reported owning ivory products. Of those who own ivory, only 7% has been registered. shown that legal ivory sales only serve point for this ivory, Thailand plays a said they bought it in the last 3 years. to provide a cover for illegal trade, role in facilitating Africa’s current The country also made an amendment despite the government’s insistence poaching crisis.
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