I'm sharing this article not to share the story of murdered elephants in national parks because human lives are not sacred anymore, so animals are way down the list.
What I am actually trying to share with article that if you may recall the social media campaign, from 2012, I believe, when Kony's face was plastered all over the social media, with the message to stop this guy in his tracks. Everybody from Alaska to Timbuktu & Sweden to Australia was feverishly sharing this guy's pics on social media, without sparing couple minutes to think how this campaign is going to help.
Problem is that if a sane person say anything against these kinds of moronic social media campaigns, that sane person will be shut out like he/she got the plague.
Well, the end result of all that sharing is what ... that Kony guy is not only alive but, apparently, doing very well ... killing elephants for their ivory tusks, which in turn, are financing his army.
On a side note, the trade for ivory, & consequently, Kony & his army, cannot be stopped until influential & rich elites of the developed world stop buying these Ivory tusks. Kony & any other poacher is simply a supplier. Simple business sense is that a supplier only exists as long as the customer exists (i.e. supply exists because of demand). If demand stops, supply itself will stop.
Be it trying to end the killings of elephants by Kony (or any other poacher) or stopping Kony from murdering humans, influential elite must be involved through political means to bring about any meaningful change, instead of young & naïve millennials trying to do something through social media.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Warlord Joseph Kony's bloodthirsty Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is slaughtering elephants at an unprecedented rate & trading their valuable tusks for bullets.
The poaching of elephants in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is increasing rapidly, with more than 130 killed in the southern region in less than 12 months.
Poaching is not uncommon in African parks, but rangers at Garamba have made a worrying discovery - the ivory is helping fund the LRA's war.
Mr. [Sasha] Lezhnev, who returned from the DR Congo last week, has learned that a single elephant tusk can be traded for 18,000 bullets.
'They don't need guns, they have plenty of available guns, it's really bullets they need,' he added. 'It takes only one bullet to kill an elephant.'
The LRA - a violent rebel group led by Kony - is renowned for being one of the most brutal forces in the world.
They have become notorious for murder, mutilation, rape, widespread abductions of children and adults, & sexual slavery.
As well as the rebel group, a recent report by the Enough Project revealed renegade elements of the Congolese national army & armed poachers from Sudan are responsible for the recent upsurge in poaching.
In the past, poachers have used very basic methods to slaughter the elephants, killing just one or two at a time.
Now, heavily armed groups are using professional techniques & are bringing down 3 to 8 of these majestic animals at a time. Their tusks are then cut off with chainsaws.
There is also evidence of at least 9 of the 131 elephants killed in Garamba in the past 12 months being shot from helicopters.
In May last year, 10 elephants were murdered in one day alone in Garamba, according to African Parks, a conservation group that manages the park with Congolese authorities.
At Virunga National Park, also in the DR Congo, the elephant population has decreased by 90% in the last 20 years, according to UNESCO.
One of the reasons for the increase in elephant poaching is likely to be the rise in the price of ivory, which is at a record high because of demand in parts of Asia, according to the Enough Project.
On the black market, elephants tusks are valued at between £13,300 & £117,000 depending on their size.
Since the 1980s, the Garamba elephant population has fallen to about 2,400 from approximately 20,000, largely due to poaching.
What I am actually trying to share with article that if you may recall the social media campaign, from 2012, I believe, when Kony's face was plastered all over the social media, with the message to stop this guy in his tracks. Everybody from Alaska to Timbuktu & Sweden to Australia was feverishly sharing this guy's pics on social media, without sparing couple minutes to think how this campaign is going to help.
Problem is that if a sane person say anything against these kinds of moronic social media campaigns, that sane person will be shut out like he/she got the plague.
Well, the end result of all that sharing is what ... that Kony guy is not only alive but, apparently, doing very well ... killing elephants for their ivory tusks, which in turn, are financing his army.
On a side note, the trade for ivory, & consequently, Kony & his army, cannot be stopped until influential & rich elites of the developed world stop buying these Ivory tusks. Kony & any other poacher is simply a supplier. Simple business sense is that a supplier only exists as long as the customer exists (i.e. supply exists because of demand). If demand stops, supply itself will stop.
Be it trying to end the killings of elephants by Kony (or any other poacher) or stopping Kony from murdering humans, influential elite must be involved through political means to bring about any meaningful change, instead of young & naïve millennials trying to do something through social media.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Warlord Joseph Kony's bloodthirsty Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) is slaughtering elephants at an unprecedented rate & trading their valuable tusks for bullets.
The poaching of elephants in Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is increasing rapidly, with more than 130 killed in the southern region in less than 12 months.
Poaching is not uncommon in African parks, but rangers at Garamba have made a worrying discovery - the ivory is helping fund the LRA's war.
Mr. [Sasha] Lezhnev, who returned from the DR Congo last week, has learned that a single elephant tusk can be traded for 18,000 bullets.
'They don't need guns, they have plenty of available guns, it's really bullets they need,' he added. 'It takes only one bullet to kill an elephant.'
The LRA - a violent rebel group led by Kony - is renowned for being one of the most brutal forces in the world.
They have become notorious for murder, mutilation, rape, widespread abductions of children and adults, & sexual slavery.
As well as the rebel group, a recent report by the Enough Project revealed renegade elements of the Congolese national army & armed poachers from Sudan are responsible for the recent upsurge in poaching.
In the past, poachers have used very basic methods to slaughter the elephants, killing just one or two at a time.
Now, heavily armed groups are using professional techniques & are bringing down 3 to 8 of these majestic animals at a time. Their tusks are then cut off with chainsaws.
There is also evidence of at least 9 of the 131 elephants killed in Garamba in the past 12 months being shot from helicopters.
In May last year, 10 elephants were murdered in one day alone in Garamba, according to African Parks, a conservation group that manages the park with Congolese authorities.
At Virunga National Park, also in the DR Congo, the elephant population has decreased by 90% in the last 20 years, according to UNESCO.
One of the reasons for the increase in elephant poaching is likely to be the rise in the price of ivory, which is at a record high because of demand in parts of Asia, according to the Enough Project.
On the black market, elephants tusks are valued at between £13,300 & £117,000 depending on their size.
Since the 1980s, the Garamba elephant population has fallen to about 2,400 from approximately 20,000, largely due to poaching.
No comments:
Post a Comment