Now That Elephant Ivory Is Protected, Poachers Are Trading Hippo Teeth
When UK lawmakers passed the UK Ivory Act, it was an amazing victory for conservationists. The law helped ensure that there is a near-total ban on elephant ivory worldwide, which is crucial for protecting these majestic animals.
However, poachers aren’t done. Now, they’re turning to hunting hippos for their teeth instead.
Elephants are very endangered, and their populations have dropped rapidly over the past 100 years, in large part due to poaching. This is why the UK Ivory Act was so necessary and so long overdue.
The only problem is: the law didn’t go far enough, since poachers are now going after other animals instead.
In fact, experts fear that this shift in demand from elephant ivory to hippo teeth could devastate wild hippo populations. Hippos are already listed as “vulnerable to extinction” because of both poaching and habitat loss.
"Wakati wa mwaka wa 2000 na mwaka wa 2001, wavuvi wa nyoka walianza kuuza meno ya hippo, na wakati wa mwaka wa 2000 na 2000 sheria ya ""Ivory Act"" ilianza kutumika nchini Uingereza." Sheria hiyo ilisaidia kuhakikisha kwamba kuna marufuku ya karibu kabisa ya kununuliwa kwa pembe za tembo ulimwenguni pote, jambo ambalo ni muhimu sana kwa ajili ya kulinda wanyama hao mashuhuri. Hata hivyo, wawindaji haramu hawajaisha. Sasa, wao ni kugeuka kwa kuwinda hippos kwa meno yao badala yake. Tembo ni hatari sana, na idadi yao imepungua haraka katika miaka 100 iliyopita, kwa sehemu kubwa kutokana na uwindaji haramu. Kwa hiyo, sheria ya Ivory Act ya Uingereza ilihitajika sana na ilichelewa sana. Tatizo pekee ni: sheria haikuenda mbali vya kutosha, kwa kuwa wawindaji haramu sasa wanaenda baada ya wanyama wengine badala yake. Wataalamu wanaogopa kwamba mabadiliko hayo ya mahitaji ya nywele za tembo na meno ya hippo yanaweza kuharibu idadi ya hippo wa mwituni. Hippo tayari zimeorodheshwa kuwa "zenye hatari ya kutoweka" kwa sababu ya uwindaji haramu na kupoteza makao.