The ivory trade – exploiting elephants and mammoths | DW Documentary

Greed for ivory is rapidly reducing the number of African savanna elephants. Once there were more than ten million; today there are only around 350,000. Their ivory is especially sought after in Asia.

Ivory carvings are considered a status symbol among the rich, especially in Asia. Trade between Africa and Asia is booming despite strict laws and prohibitions.

At the same time, the population of Africa is exploding. Four billion people are expected to live south of the Sahara by the end of the century. Conflicts of interest with nature are inevitable. Providing sustainable protection for elephants will therefore require more than just banning the trade in ivory. Rescue for Africa’s elephants could come from the vastness of Siberia. In the thawing permafrost of the Arctic lie unexpected treasures: the tusks of millions of mammoths. They can be traded legally and are of the same quality as ivory from elephants.

The film tells the story of elephant and mammoth ivory, looks at the legal and illegal trade, asks whether ivory from the extinct ice age giants could save their endangered cousins in Africa from being wiped out. Additionally, it explores whether some elephant hunting could be allowed to maintain a natural balance in some regions of Africa.
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Видео The ivory trade – exploiting elephants and mammoths | DW Documentary канала DW Documentary