[mukkrakker (OP)]

My first post - I hope it's not too political or subversive a subject to start with!

Google "Ivory and Al Shabaab" and you'll find several links like this one (blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/11/how-al-shabaab-is-keeping-the-african-ivory-market-alive) about the link between ivory poaching and the funding of terrorism.

This is both very bad news and yet potentially also good news for conservation - now we can get governments and security concerns to pursue and irradicate all illegal poaching - Al Shabaab is directly paying for Ivory and shipping to China and making huge profits that fund terrorism such as Nairobi's Westgate mall atrocity.

To date, getting any government, but especially the US, to be concerned about the slaughter of elephants, rhino's and other animals on foreign soil has been and up hill struggle.
The Ivory trade is now worth some $10 billion a year (just slightly behind the drugs trade and human trafficking) and some stellar investigative journalism (nice to know some people are still doing it) has proven the link between ivory and terror funding. But we need to be vocal about this and get the investment and resources starting NOW.

Curious to know others feelings on this subject.

MR.

[Don_1]

I'm pretty sure Ivory & terrorism can be linked. But that may not get the big guns involved in anti poaching assistance.
Reserve wardens do a fine & very dangerous job of trying to curtail poaching, but they have everything against them. Most of all, their problem is too few wardens to cover vast areas. The entire US army could not cover the 10's of thousands of Sq miles involved, either physically or within an affordable budget.
China is unquestionabley the leading market for not just ivory, but many other victims of poaching and their new found wealth will only serve to make a bad situation very much worse.
Frankly, I think our only hope in protecting Elephants, Rhino, tortoises, tigers, seahorses and many many more is to try to get through to the Chinese people, and I don't hold out much hope for that either.

[CliffordK]

No doubt ivory trade is supporting militant groups and warlords. 

Are these terrorists?  I believe the majority of their influence is local.  Perhaps using terror tactics, but I had always thought of terrorists as those individuals attacking foreign nations.

Now, that could certainly change if a significant amount of international pressure was brought upon their activities.

As far as China, slam them with major economic sanctions, and/or a boycott, and they'll change their ways, and while it may cause some domestic turmoil, it may have a positive effect on the domestic economies.  They'll get the picture that Ivory & rhino horn trade is no longer sanctioned.

[mukkrakker (OP)]

Well, I'm very happy to see some comments, although frankly underwhelmed by the number.
I agree, one way to impact this threat is to take it to the Chinese people.
I'd love to see some horror story, along the lines of Rhino horn gives you HIV…
But trade in the USA is also extensive, and growing. Given that scrimshaw and "old" ivory is necessarily a finite resource, you have to wonder how such trade can be constantly expanding year by year. The answer is obvious.
Religious icons are the new de rigueur for both South and North Americans. Although the Catholic church has issued statements concerning the use of ivory there has been no papal edict - as such it's only a recommendation.
We in the West need to take our share of the responsibility for this slaughter.
Write to your government representative, your church leaders - get the facts, and get them into the hands of those who have the power to make changes...

[yor_on]

It's people muk, and beliefs.
Not logic.

But Internet may help there, slowly, as people gets educated about the consequences.
Well, hopefully