We’ve previously written about the need to not only deal with the supply side of the illegal ivory issue, but also the demand side. In fact, the U.S. is the second largest consumer of illegal ivory. If the demand continues to exist then so will the supply. Our goal is to not only help arm those focusing on protecting elephant herds with the genetic evidence to track poaching, but also bridge the educational gap here in the U.S. between purchasing ivory and driving elephants to extinction.
Which is why our attention was drawn to an article in today’s Guardian, entitled “Does mammoth ivory make ethical jewellry?”
You never thought you’d see the day, but ivory is back in fashion – mammoth ivory, that is. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, mammoth-mining is big business in Russia. Tusks from the long-gone species are being reclaimed from their mass graveyard in the Siberian tundra, and each year 60 tonnes are exported to China, home to the world’s largest ivory market.
Mammoth ivory is being touted as more ethical as it doesn’t threaten the conservation of a living species. The article goes on to say:
But are they really an ethical alternative? With an estimated 150m corpses under the permafrost, stocks are unlikely to run out soon, and thanks to global warming (every cloud . . .) they are becoming increasingly easy to reach. Meanwhile, a report in the Pachyderm journal offers the ringing endorsement that mammoth ivory could “reduce demand for elephant ivory from Africa. Probably.”
Is ivory from already dead animals ethical? That question easily gives rise to a whole other debate, but ultimately, if we’re talking about decreasing the demand for ivory, then we’re talking about all forms of it. The Guardian article even quotes one of Save the Elephants’ recent campaign slogans: “All ivory, even if legally sourced, fuels the ivory trade.”
The risk is that promoting any type of ivory, even if it comes from dead animals, will push demand for all ivory, continuing the vicious cycle of the illegal ivory trade.
What do you think? Is there such a thing as “ethical ivory?”
Tags: ethical ivory, illegal ivory, ivory, mammoth
