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    BlueBeardEllie Shechet
    4/29/16 5:05pm

    I don’t know much about the ivory trade, but seems to me that making it more rare makes it more valuable, and puts animals at greater risk.

    If some guy is willing to pay a lot of money for an elephant tusk, think how much more they might pay for one of the last tusks.

    Also, why do people love this stuff so much anyway?

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      Marzipan in your Pie PlateBlueBeard
      4/29/16 5:14pm

      Yeah I was thinking that too. But selling off the stockpiles apparently only drives up demand too, so what do you do? Except make poaching elephants and buying ivory very illegal and actually enforce the punishments.

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      freshacconciBlueBeard
      4/29/16 5:24pm

      That’s what I was wondering, but figured there’s some things about the ivory trade that I don’t understand (i.e. all of it).

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    UrbanNunEnthusiastEllie Shechet
    4/29/16 5:02pm

    We don’t believe there is any intrinsic value in ivory, and therefore we’re going to burn all our stockpiles and demonstrate to the world that ivory is only valuable on elephants

    Hells yeah. I never got the appeal of useless baubles myself (I’m the kind of person who rolls my eyes at Kay Jewelers commercials), let alone useless baubles procured via cruelty. Fuck anyone who thinks an elephant should die because you want some ugly ivory statue in your house.

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      SportsicleUrbanNunEnthusiast
      4/29/16 5:15pm

      I heard the black value market of all the ivory to be burned was probably north of $300,000,000. Gutsy move Kenya.

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      artless.dodgerUrbanNunEnthusiast
      4/29/16 5:46pm

      I’ve never understood it either. If I want an ivory carved bauble, why can’t I just have a resin or similar material that’s COLORED to look like ivory?

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    grumpstomerEllie Shechet
    4/29/16 5:04pm

    Oh em gee, I just woke up and in my sleepy stupor read the headline as KANYE is gonna burn some ivory. I'm going back to sleep...

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      Perraviejagrumpstomer
      4/29/16 5:07pm

      Came here to write the same thing about Kanye, except I’m wide awake.

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      trichobezoar2Perravieja
      4/29/16 5:41pm

      Third. I was all set to approve of Kanye for the first time ever.

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    useless ruckusEllie Shechet
    4/29/16 5:57pm

    I like the idea of staining elephant and rhino tusks with an organic stain that pretty much renders them valueless. It’s pink, and apparently soaks through to the core of the tusk. I guess it’s not happening, because you have to knock the animal out to dye it’s tusks/horn, which in itself presents dangers. But they are working on a dye that can be ingested.

    https://staintuskstostopelephantpoaching.wordpress.com/

    If there is a Hell, I hope there is a special place set aside for poachers, where their teeth are constantly pulled out for demon jewelry.

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      Clairvoyantuseless ruckus
      4/29/16 6:09pm

      Plus, the animals look awesome! Win win

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      CHIEF QUEEFuseless ruckus
      4/29/16 6:47pm

      And what about all the rich collectors who create a demand for poaching? Because poaching is already an extremely dangerous job that draws mostly desperate people. They’re not doing it for fun.

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    jeanneeeEllie Shechet
    4/29/16 6:12pm

    Good. Fuck ivory poachers. If only they were the ones burning.

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      mart39jeanneee
      4/29/16 6:30pm

      You know most of the poachers are probably not born with silver spoons in their mouth like you?

      Do you ever eat meat? Do you ever fail to recycle electronics? Are all of your clothes ethically sourced? It’s very easy for us to be critical of other people when most of the cruel and terrible things we do on a daily basis are out of sight and out of mind.

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      jeanneeemart39
      4/29/16 7:40pm

      You’re right. I should feel more sorry for the people who kill innocent elephants, cut off their tusks for large amounts of money, and leave their bodies to rot on the ground.

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    JujyMonkey: Clever tagline goes hereEllie Shechet
    4/29/16 5:05pm

    Of those elephants that have died since the 1970's, how many are Trump’s idiot son’s personally responsible for?

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      Dr. Programmer, EsquireJujyMonkey: Clever tagline goes here
      4/29/16 5:06pm

      1%

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    DaisyLadyEllie Shechet
    4/29/16 5:27pm
    ivory is only valuable on elephants

    I need this on t-shirts, hats, bumper stickers, flags, billboards, tattoos. Pretty much everything that exists.

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      Martini of Male Tears for BreakfastEllie Shechet
      4/29/16 5:29pm

      I’m curiorus about the psycology behind why people are still buying illegal ivory knowing that they’re needlessly hastening the extinction of an amazing creature. The dwindling numbers of elephants is hardly a secret, and tusks have (as far as I know) no use beyond decorative. You can understand why the poachers do what they do as there’s a financial incentive (I’m not saying it’s morally justified, just that the motive is clear), however illegally buying something that has no real purpose, knowing the true cost of the crime is something I can’t fathom.

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        Das, evil rabbit and obnoxious (half)germanMartini of Male Tears for Breakfast
        4/29/16 5:40pm

        This may be wrong, but I believe that in traditional Chinese medicine ivory and ivory dust has some uses, which is part of the reason that China is by far the biggest market for poached ivory in the world. Google directed me to this article, which is both fascinating and depressing.

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        ErgatesMartini of Male Tears for Breakfast
        4/29/16 5:44pm

        “I’m curiorus about the psycology behind why people are still buying illegal ivory knowing that they’re needlessly hastening the extinction of an amazing creature. ”

        In simple terms: They don’t care.

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      AnonymousCivilPersonEllie Shechet
      4/29/16 5:37pm
      Kenya Will Host the Largest Ivory Burn in History As a Signal to Poachers

      That Ivory prices will be on the rise.

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        VodkaRocks&aPieceofToastEllie Shechet
        4/29/16 5:12pm

        YEA! God bless the home country of our President!!!!

        lol j/k obvs.

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