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    ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ : Riot GRRR is RUNNING WILDEllie Shechet
    2/27/15 11:19am

    Why can't we just declare open season on elephant poachers? I've always wanted me some gen-you-eine poacher enamel.

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      Whyareallmyrubixcolorsthesameʕ•ᴥ•ʔ : Riot GRRR is RUNNING WILD
      2/27/15 11:29am

      While I abhor poaching, and all unnescessary animal cruelty, you should remember that the majority of poachers are extremely poor natives who are trying to feed their families. Caring about exotic animals is Western luxury, and sign of our privilege.

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      benjaminalloverʕ•ᴥ•ʔ : Riot GRRR is RUNNING WILD
      2/27/15 11:34am

      I blame the idiots who want it for decoration, not the desperately poor people who are poaching to meet that demand.

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    kitteneyeEllie Shechet
    2/27/15 11:34am

    This is fucking disgusting. Elephants are such intelligent, beautiful animals.

    There is ZERO reason why ivory might be needed by humans. Ever. It serves no practical purpose, save for vanity. And it is despicable that China is enabling the high demand for it.

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      for_british_eyes_onlykitteneye
      2/27/15 12:35pm

      Just so you're aware, the second highest market for ivory is the United States.

      We need a worldwide intervention to save these creatures.

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      kitteneyefor_british_eyes_only
      2/27/15 1:05pm

      Yes, I'm aware.

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    ElysiaEllie Shechet
    2/27/15 11:16am

    This is so fucking depressing, I just don't what to say.

    UGH PEOPLE

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      ISpeakJiveElysia
      2/27/15 11:58am

      If elephants go extinct, I would literally cry so hard. It's my favorite animal. Just watching that movie was enough to get me worked up.

      I realize this is almost meaningless to say, but that's how strongly I feel about it.

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      HoneybeaISpeakJive
      2/27/15 12:15pm

      CO SIGNED

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    Ken Yadiggit, AdiosEllie Shechet
    2/27/15 12:30pm

    As much as I think poaching in general is just fucked and bad....it boggles my mind that poachers don't think ahead. Like, think longstanding access. If you keep killing elephants at the rate you are now, and in 10 years they will be extinct....in ten years you are shit out of luck. Why in the world would you deplete your source so quickly and aggressively?

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      Marylee111Ken Yadiggit, Adios
      2/27/15 1:07pm

      Seriously, that's really baffling. I understand evil (obvs I don't condone it, but I understand that technically a person utterly and completely lacking in compassion is likely to profit more), but this is plain self-destructive stupidity. Even small children understand the ant and grasshopper fairytale!

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      whylimeKen Yadiggit, Adios
      2/27/15 3:10pm

      For sure. That's what I was thinking when I watched The Cove, that documentary about the business of dolphin-hunting in Japan. (If you thought Blackfish was bad, don't watch The Cove). There are towns in Japan that rely on the dolphin trade, except many of them have basically depleted their dolphin populations, causing their economy to collapse. And yet, other Japanese towns continue to catch dolphins at an insane rate, not learning from their neighbors. It doesn't make sense. From just an economic point of view, why would you destroy your main source of income?

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    HoneybeaEllie Shechet
    2/27/15 11:20am

    God, this makes me so ill. Elephants are such incredibly amazing creatures. They have families and a culture, they mourn their dead, they problem solve. I'm not a fan of any living creature being hunted down for decorative parts, but particularly when that creature is a sentient being....ugh. Everything is terrible.

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      Elizabeth FamousEllie Shechet
      2/27/15 12:28pm

      Maybe this is the stupidest idea ever but could the governments in African go into the ivory business, harvesting from older, dying elephants and tranquilizing healthy elephants to remove their tusks? It sounds radical and would cost a lot but it might work on a pragmatic level.

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        story645Elizabeth Famous
        2/27/15 3:34pm

        Planet Money ran an episode on the African Rhino trade that had a lot to do with legal trade: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/20…

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      IAmBrettEllie Shechet
      2/27/15 12:14pm

      Looks like more tuskless elephants in our future, just like a decade ago and more:

      Male elephants usually grow tusks, but typically around 2%-5% have a genetic quirk that means they remain tuskless. By killing elephants for their ivory, poachers make it more likely that tuskless elephants will mate and pass on the quirk to the next generation.

      Zhang Li, a zoologist at Beijing Normal University and a member of the World Conservation Union's Asian elephant specialist group, studied herds in China and found that up to 10% were tuskless.

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