Exhibition in Bangkok highlights cruelty of elephant poaching

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Exhibition highlights cruelty of elephant poaching

By The Nation

 

 

The tragic scene of an African elephant lying dead in a pool of blood with its calf standing nearby is front and centre in an art display at the Bangkok Art & Culture Centre (BACC) in a bid to boost public awareness of the illegal ivory trade.
 

Hoping to prompt tourists and Thais to stop buying ivory, WWF-Thailand, along with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, NokScoot Airline, and the Bangkok Art & Culture Centre (BACC), unveiled the life-size resin sculpture of the elephant pair at the “Travel Ivory Free” art exhibition which will be held at the BACC from October 1 to October 10.

 

This one-of-a-kind artwork, measuring, 1.8 metres high and 7 metres long, was created by award-winning Silapathorn artist Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch to show that buying ivory fuels the cruel and destructive poaching that is wiping out elephants across Africa.

 

Every year, more than 20,000 elephants are killed in Africa and their tusks taken to supply ivory markets, primarily in Asia. As a result, the population of African elephants has dropped from 1.3 million in 1979 to approximately 415,000 in 2016.

 

If this slaughter continues, the African elephant could become extinct in the wild, according to the WWF-Thailand.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30355887

 

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