A Story Exposes How the Chinese Government is Fueling Elephant Slaughter
This article discusses the issue of
the ivory market and how it relates to religious practices. Buddhist and
Catholic icons and religious objects are carved out of ivory; therefore there is
a high demand for ivory in China, Japan, the Philippians, and other Asian
countries. There have been acts to stop the slaughtering of elephants for their
tusks, but the Chinese government is working to get more ivory. An ivory ban is
the only force that truly works to control the poachers; when regulations on
the ban were relaxed, poaching soared. The ivory market is a dangerous
business, slaughtering elephants as well as humans.
More than one hundred tons of ivory
leading towards Japan and China was confiscated, the plan for this ivory was to
have an “auction”. The auction was supposed to flood the ivory market and drop prices;
therefore the demand for ivory would drop. But this plan backfired. There was
no competition because Japan and China use different types of ivory. Japan uses
medium-size, high-quality tusks for making a type of stamp, and China uses
large or whole tusks for sculptures of small pieces for decorative pieces. Japan
suggests each country bid on different pieces, and the price of ivory stays
low. The second backfire to the auction was once the Chinese government had
their ivory; they did not flood the market, but limit the supply and raise
prices. China created a ten-year plan to limit the supply of ivory to releasing
five tons annually. “’The Chinese government, which controls who may sell ivory
in China, wasn’t undercutting the black market—it was using its monopoly power
to outperform the black market.”’ Andrew Revkin, the New York Times.
The failures of the “auction” lead
to a greater demand for ivory. This article displays the irony of the ivory
market and the need for ivory for religion. People are dying in order for
Catholics and Buddhists to have ivory sculptures and art.
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