ways to destroy ivory?

linds

proudly Philippine made!
Silver Member
denr-spearheads-crushing-of-elephant-tusks

http://http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/photo/39532/denr-spearheads-crushing-of-elephant-tusks
confiscated some years ago (20tons) now being destroyed 5 tons/sort of/covering up? prime sections missing... take note of the pix

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/photo/39532/denr-spearheads-crushing-of-elephant-tusks

rock crusher be better then thrown to mindanao deep :grin-square:
 
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Underclocked

.........Whut?.........
Silver Member
I guess that makes absolutely no sense to me. How does that help elephants? Seems to me it would do just the opposite.
 

thepavlos

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I've always wondered why the governments that seize it don't proceed to sell it (with papers) then take that money and fund their conservation efforts? It's not like it is an illegal drug or weapon that could cause harm in the future?
 

bdorman

Dead money
Silver Member
I guess that makes absolutely no sense to me. How does that help elephants? Seems to me it would do just the opposite.

Because it's like the government selling confiscated heroin. Put more ivory into the market and the price goes down and more people are going to want it.
 

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I guess that makes absolutely no sense to me. How does that help elephants? Seems to me it would do just the opposite.

its Africa not everything makes sense to us, they burn wear houses full of ivory sometimes, other times they auction it off. Elephants are part of Africa like Corn is in America its used for many things and not worshiped on TV. Got to remember that too
 

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It helps elephants because it widely publicizes the loss of the ivory poachers/smugglers profits and their risk of apprehension. Just like any other crime.


lots of this ivory is simply found in the bush, its not all poachers. Elephants do die and the ivory just lays there, the bush is millions and millions of acres across a continent, there is more ivory that they know what to do with.

Africa has its own solutions for things, and besides they got diamonds, ivory is cheap shit for them.
 

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There isn't any chance that corn is going to go extinct now, is there?


in Somalia where there is a war-yes, in some other areas they have been hammered -South Africa. But no chance they will be extinct in the wild in our lifetimes, we might be extinct first-seriously.

Elephants are very prolific and it takes 27(as i recall) months for a cow to get pregnant and have a calf, and then can get knocked up again pretty fast. elephants are very prolific.

Now what WILL BE EXTINCT are rhino's, they are not prolific, easy to kill and have much more value and therefore more pressure on them. Most anti-poaching efforts are going into rhino's now, its the same poachers going after ele's and rhino, i'll explain, there are 2 kinds of poachers, armed and unarmed. the armed guys are out after rhino first and jumbo's 2nd. the unarmed guys use snares and hunt for nyama(meat). the unarmed poachers out number armed guys by a high number, problem is the armed guys do more damage.


Game in Africa is a crop, nothing more nothing less. Its just not presented like that in the media in the West, so people have all these preconcieved notions and beliefs that are false, i did until i lived there . then and only then will a person really learn about Africa. Game is exploited by fundraising charities or shot down for many reasons-its a industry for some, survival for others. Some people cut down the tree for the top apple and not think of the future, others think differently. Just a crop....
 
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Underclocked

.........Whut?.........
Silver Member
There is no way you can make this seem sensible to me. It is not a drug or other harmful substance and the elephants from which this ivory came are already dead.

So someone robs a man of a truckload of lumber and kills him in the process. The perps are perhaps caught and prosecuted. Then, to teach others a lesson, the lumber is smashed or burned???

Yeah, that's it, that'll teach 'em!! The next guy driving down that road with a truckload of lumber will feel much safer.

There has to be a method of dealing with the ivory that would generate funds to help combat poaching.
 

bdorman

Dead money
Silver Member
Let's assume all the ivory in that raid is confiscated by the government and sold to cue makers.

Ivory parts on a cue become cheaper to the point where it doesn't command much of a premium. The result is that everyone wants a cue with ivory. The lower price increases the demand, prices go back up after the supply is used, and the poachers now have a bigger market.

Sure, it's unrealistic to assume that all the ivory goes to cue makers. It's an example that we're familiar with. It will go to the highest bidders, probably Chinese figurine carvers. That will just increase the demand for ivory figurines.

The other result is that the government becomes partners with the poachers (which is already happening). Do you seriously think that third world government bureaucrats are going to funnel all that money back into anti-poaching or conservation efforts?

My solution would be to burn or crush the poachers along with the ivory. They want it so bad, let them take it with 'em.
 

Blue Hog ridr

World Famous Fisherman.
Silver Member
Hahaha, Bob.

I guess when it comes down to it, I am a bit of a Tree Hugger. We are given so much to manage Mother Nature and when we have finished abusing her, its gone, we won't get it back.

I don't see and never will be convinced of the fascination with Ivory in a cue. Let alone a ferrule.

There are just too many better ivory alternatives to spend that kind of money on it.
 

linds

proudly Philippine made!
Silver Member
Just to clarify, The links Linds provided regard Ivory that was confiscated and recently destroyed in the Philippines.

The Ivory was originally going to be burned but an environmental group protested, so it was crushed instead.


you got it! this is to show how stupid the govt people are... crushing with road roller, hoping wont incur damage since ivory is quite dense and incinerate after??? will just add up to ozone problem...should have used rock crusher then thrown in mindanao deep (cheaper) than to satisfy the media/press. also take note: prime sections missing? and the confiscated stuff was originally 20tons...
 

Underclocked

.........Whut?.........
Silver Member
I'll go with bdorman's solution - crush the poachers as well as the ivory. That sends the right message.

It just seems a terrible shame to waste the ivory in such ways. There should be some mechanism to utilize the ivory productively without providing additional incentive to the poachers.

I've never even liked ivory in a cue as a functional component. For decoration it is pretty but lots of materials are just as pretty if not prettier, more structurally sound, and endanger nothing. And I think it is atrocious that elephants have been pushed to the brink by illegal hunting - though I doubt that is the whole reason for their demise.

On the other hand, I'm thankful the great herds of bison that once roamed this continent are no longer with us. Can you imagine 5 million head of buffalo running through your town?
 
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