October 6, 2007
Ivory or white gold, the most sought after asset of a tusker, is not burnt in India after its death. It becomes government property and is stocked in godowns run by state wildlife departments.
About 400 elephants die ever year and 20 are poached, according to estimates of the ministry of environment and forests. These include natural and accidental deaths and those caused by revenge killings.
The Wildlife Protection Act, in place for 35 years, is silent on the eventual management of ivory. In case an elephant dies a natural death or in an accident, the ivory is kept in government godowns. Barring the state wildlife authorities, nobody knows what happens to the ivory—whether it remains in tact, given its huge demand in the domestic and the international market.
The Act prohibits the sale and purchase of ivory. While a kilogram of ivory fetches Rs 20,000 in the domestic market, its value increases manifold in the international market.
Under the law, a person convicted for possessing ivory (not covered by ownership certificate) has to face punishment up to seven years.
Ashok Kumar, vice-chairman of the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), a Delhi-based wildlife conservation NGO, says Japan is the main buyer for Asian and African ivory. Ivory is also in great demand in China, Macao and the two Koreas. Little wonder then that cases of elephant poisoning are reported from time to time.
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