Thailand to destroy massive ivory stockpiles ?

[Lite Beer]

Thailand to destroy massive ivory stockpiles ???

BANGKOK: -- Confiscated elephant tusks are now posing heavy burden for relevant government agencies to keep.

From 2012, elephant tusks and ivory products seized from smuggling gangs to Thailand from Africa now weighed more than five tons and valued over 300 million baht.

Not only the amount of these confiscated ivory stockpiles that worried officials, but their existence also put the country at risk of being accused of supporting illegal ivory and wildlife trade.

Thailand is now the only country in the region which does not destroy the ivory stockpiles.

China, Hong Kong and the Philippines have all followed global efforts to stop ivory trade by destroying all confiscated elephant tusks and ivory items. The action is to send message to tusk dealers to stop the illegal wildlife trade.

But with the growing concern, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) is now prepared to hold negotiations with both the government and private sector regarding its plans to destroy all ivory stockpiles.

This follows the department’s conservation programs and its policy to disrupt illegal ivory trade in the country.

DNP is the only government agency to keep the ivory stockpiles confiscated from smugglers.

The stockpiles are kept in its secret warehouse where access is possible only through several security personnel at different checkpoints, many closed-circuit TV cameras, and finally three locked passages.

The warehouse is now safeguarding 591 perfect samples of elephant tusks, 334 ivory pieces and more than 2,500 ivory products weighing a total of 5 tons. All these items are valued at almost 300 million baht

DNP director-general Niphon Chotiban said Thailand is used as a trade route and transit country to other destinations such as China because it is the transportation hub for commercial flights in the region.

It is for this reason that Thai authorities have had to set up comprehensive measures to police the ivory trade, he said.

He said almost all of the seized ivory originated from Africa and made its way in to Thailand.

Because of the strategic location of the country coupled with the county’s comprehensive transport system, the ivory will then be delivered to China who is the main buyer of these products.

Most recently, a large batch of ivory tusks that had been seized by the Customs Department were sent to the DNP for safe-keeping.

This batch has an estimated value of 3 million Baht per pair and represents a great burden for the department who has to safeguard it.

The DNP is now proposing to destroy all to stamp out illegal wildlife trade.
But whether it will get approval depending on the agreement of the government, private sector, NGOs, and wildlife foundations which are to meet and decide July 8.

If this is approved, it will the country’s first and massive stockpiles to be destroyed.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/thailand-destroy-massive-ivory-stockpiles/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=thailand-destroy-massive-ivory-stockpiles

-- Thai PBS 2014-06-28

[AGareth2]

destroy it before it disappears

[rebelplatoon]

Sell it carved by artistic prisoners. Give them a bonus for it. Sell it with a certificate how it was obtained and donate profits to organizations helping/ guarding elephants. My two cents worth.

[fab4]

China, Hong Kong and the Philippines have all followed global efforts to stop ivory trade by destroying all confiscated elephant tusks and ivory items. The action is to send message to tusk dealers to stop the illegal wildlife trade.

Well that's not quite true. There were experimental one off sales of confiscated ivory in 1999 and 2008. China purchased 62 tonnes but that only succeeded in creating a demand by nouveau riche Chinese and corruption in that illegal ivory was "laundered" as being legal.

So, as the legal sales backfired, then everybody destroys their stocks of confiscated ivory, including China, apparently. Except they didn't;

In January 2014, China destroyed a portion of its stockpile (http://eia-international.org/ivory-trade-ban-essential-to-save-elephants)

This morning, China crushed a 6.1 metric ton stockpile of illegal ivory, a big step for a country that's been labelled one of the world's worst wildlife offenders. Following just two months after a similar crushing ceremony in the US and the Philippines before that, it's a sign that such grand gestures are gaining popularity, and good news for embattled elephants.

However, it's notable that China's crush only included seized, illegal ivory, and that legal ivory remains in the country. The international ban on ivory trade dates back to 1989, but under the ban, ivory has expanded to an industry worth billions, largely because it isn't always illegal. Pre-ban ivory can still be traded, and China, among others, is home to a legal stockpile supplemented by legal one-time auctions in 1999 and 2008 that sent ivory to "accredited traders" for regulated sale.

"It's difficult, too, to see beyond today's event as a PR exercise when considering that the 6.2 tonnes of ivory crushed represents a small fraction of what we know has been seized in China," noted the Environmental Investigation Agency

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/chinas-historic-ivory-crush-is-a-good-first-step-but-only-that

[Eddy B]

They should use it as a educational wake-up call to everyone! Set up centers around Thailand with the tusks for students and adults to see what this is; Butchery, murder and slowly the extinction of the fellow mammal that Thailand hold so dear to it's heart. This need to kill these majestic fellow mammals needs to end!

[NeverSure]

Sell it carved by artistic prisoners. Give them a bonus for it. Sell it with a certificate how it was obtained and donate profits to organizations helping/ guarding elephants. My two cents worth.

At first I agreed with this, but on further thought it would create a legal outlet for it and corruption could allow more to enter the mix. Illegal traffickers could have it carved and then sell it as certified legal.

It hurts me to see 300 million baht just go away, but I think that banning all manufacture and trade in those materials is the only hope of stopping it slowing it down. Job 1 is to protect the wildlife.

[Seastallion]

Sell it carved by artistic prisoners. Give them a bonus for it. Sell it with a certificate how it was obtained and donate profits to organizations helping/ guarding elephants. My two cents worth.

Yep, and at well below market price; Flood the market and undercut. Makes the trade not lucrative enough to risk.

[hkt83100]

Sell it for a profit. Use the money to support institutions like the Elephant Hospital in Lampang. Easy.

[LawrenceN]

Sell it carved by artistic prisoners. Give them a bonus for it. Sell it with a certificate how it was obtained and donate profits to organizations helping/ guarding elephants. My two cents worth.

At first I agreed with this, but on further thought it would create a legal outlet for it and corruption could allow more to enter the mix. Illegal traffickers could have it carved and then sell it as certified legal.

It hurts me to see 300 million baht just go away, but I think that banning all manufacture and trade in those materials is the only hope of stopping it slowing it down. Job 1 is to protect the wildlife.

I agree. It wouldn't be very hard to fake a certificate, given the money involved.

[LeeCraker]

Anytime you sell ivory no matter where or how it was obtained, you are encouraging people to own ivory. Not a good thing. Owning ivory should be illegal and enforced, but Thailand will never do this because of it's religious use.

It is amazing to me that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Thailand continues to be the worlds major hub of illegal ivory distribution, so if this amount has been confiscated imagine how much has not.

[Robby nz]

If it is not destroyed it will end up in the hands of those who wanted it in the first place, that is the ones who foster the killing by their demand.

Just because this lot gets through by whatever means, and that is what selling or otherwise using it actually means, will not stop the demand, if anything it will increase it.

Only way is to destroy it and take it completely out of the market.

[marko kok prong]

Unfortunately until China makes a stand and bans all ivory completely,this terrible trade will go on,not just that but Tiger parts,and shark fins,they really are the world's worst offendors when it comes to decimating wildlife.

[Aceicol]

It's a difficult one really, the origin is obviously wrong, but destroying all that will increase the price, which I imagine makes it better for the hunters and probably increases the amount.

Also the West often have a dig at China, but they are only enjoying what our forefathers did X amount of years ago. I think education is the key, but why would a nation on it's uppers want to take advice from the USA, UK, Germany, France etc? It does smack of our country have had our fun, now tow the line. Chinese people I've met over the years (generalisation here) have been lovely people, I'm sure if we explained to them it would go out the other ear, but we can only hope in time.

[skypecoaching]

destroying it means harming nature in two ways: first you kill the animal just for a small part of it, secondly destroying the part the animal was killed for means a second kill. It should still be used in some way!! education for children, education against killing animals, something like that, even if it is only for the respect of the anaimal that was killed for it. just destroying makes only sense on paper!!

[duanebigsby]

Destroying it is the only real option.

As soon as you sell it, even for a loss, or prisoner carved below market value gives it a price. when it has value it will continue.

.

The only thing that will get through to poachers is having zero value for it. China is driving the market and Thailand is helping supply it.

[mikecat]

Yeh, lets sell all the confiscated drugs for a profit and give the money to rehabilitation centres. Destroy it and do it quickly before some else has a bright idea.

[Basil B]

I do hope it is not being stored in a rice warehouse...

[gchurch259]

Sell it and give money to Homes for Orphans and needy childrens school cost.

[Artisi]

If anyone really think destroying this ivory will in any way reduce the demand you are way wrong, the demand is there and any removed from the market will be replaced at a higher cost and a greater loss of wild-life.

So how to protect the wild-life from poachers - if I had the answer, I'm sure a lot smarter people than myself would have already come-up with it.

[Artisi]

I do hope it is not being stored in a rice warehouse...

If it were, it would have already vanished, although according the previous government it would still be there.

[krishnan]

What happened to the men from whom these ivory's were confiscated?? May be the govt. could remove a couple of collar bones from them as well, as punishment? At times, I wonder, if the Islamic laws are better to control such kind of crimes...an eye for an eye...etc..etc.

[jimbeam1]

destroying it means harming nature in two ways: first you kill the animal just for a small part of it, secondly destroying the part the animal was killed for means a second kill. It should still be used in some way!! education for children, education against killing animals, something like that, even if it is only for the respect of the anaimal that was killed for it. just destroying makes only sense on paper!!

In many ways I agree with you, it seems such a shame that all those wonderful creatures died for nothing.

They could always be mounted on a block and any future poachers captured could be impaled on them.

jb1

[DrTuner]

Put it in an ivory museum and give the proceeds from the tickets to wildlife preservation. That way there won't be a market created and there's no need do destroy it. TAT ought to intervene.

[bergenser1]

Someone is afraid that the Military is going to check the stockpile.

Better burn it fast before the stockpile is tallied up.

[Local Drunk]

The elephants are dead... There's no reason at all why the ivory shouldn't follow suit,

[Local Drunk]

Put it in an ivory museum and give the proceeds from the tickets to wildlife preservation. That way there won't be a market created and there's no need do destroy it. TAT ought to intervene.

I can't really respond to your post without banned for life.

[Robby nz]

As with all such things there is a chain from the poacher to the eventual customer.

The way to stop the trade is to break the chain in as many places as possible.

The poachers (often the poor) will only kill these animals if there is money in it for them and they cant sell direct to the customer.

As both the customers and poachers are in different countries there is no way, other than complain, that Thailand can do anything about them.

There are however those in Thailand and countries other than the source and destination than can be targeted to remove links of the chain, this is what must be done also going after officials who allow these chain links to operate..

No easy task and an ongoing one for where there is profit there will always be those whose greed supersedes all else.

As for the ivory in storage. Yes destroy it, for it has already been withdrawn from the market and there is no point in reintroducing it just to make money for someone else from the death of the elephants.

[stoli]

Is there a way to donate these to legitimate museums and possibly legitimate zoos, that can create a display showing their support for a ban on ivory?

[joshstiles]

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destroy it before it disappears

Thailand is now the only country in the region which does not destroy the ivory stockpiles.

Geeze....I wonder why??? Can any of you figure out the answer?

[wilcopops]

Sell it carved by artistic prisoners. Give them a bonus for it. Sell it with a certificate how it was obtained and donate profits to organizations helping/ guarding elephants. My two cents worth.

Sorry as an option that isn't even 2 cents.

Just pause and look at it from a practical point of view....can you imagine this being carried out without some of the stuff going missing.

the ivory trade is STILL LEGAL in Thailand - so long as the ivory comes from elephants that have died in Thailand of "natural causes" - but it turns out that the amount of ivory being held by carvers massively exceeds any amount that could possibly be accounted for by this criteria.........

Internationally there has been a lot of investigation into the effects of hang huge stashes of ivory existing "legally in any country and the result in general is it muddies the water and no-one can be sure what is or isn't "legal' ivory.

If it is all destroyed then the remaking ivory must be illegal. Simple.