Asian Elephants Under Threat From Elephant Skin Trade

By Mohd Haikal Isa BANGKOK, April 25 (Bernama) -- Long hunted for its highly prized ivory, the Asian elephant is now facing a new threat to its survival from poachers who wanted to exploit and trade its skin. A United Kingdom-based conservation charity body, Elephant Family which carried out an investigation on the escalating elephant skin trade said, the trade could drive the already shrinking number of Asian elephants into extinction. "A trade that targets any elephant of any age could spell disaster for small, poorly protected populations of this endangered, slow-breeding species," said its director Belinda Stewart-Cox to the media here Tuesday. The Elephant Family also launched a new investigative report titled, "Skinned – The Growing Appetite for Asia Elephants," which drew attention on the rise of poaching to satisfy the need of the growing trade of elephant skin. The charity body spent about four years since 2014 studying the illegal trade in Asian elephants and its research revealed the skin trade continues to grow both in scope and volume. The charity body began by monitoring the live trade of elephants but later discovered a marked increase in poaching in Myanmar and was shown images of elephant carcasses found with strips of skin missing and surgically skinned carcasses. "The skin is used to make beads for bracelets and necklaces for traditional 'wenwan' jewellery and rectangular pieces of polished skin were also seen being sold as pendants," said Stewart-Cox. Elephant skin she said, was also dried and grounded into powder and used as an ingredient for traditional medicine products that claimed to cure stomach ailments. The skin is also mixed with elephant fat to make a cream to treat skin infections. At present she said, the main source for elephant skin came from Myanmar where officials have identified a poaching crisis that has developed rapidly since 2010. "Undoubtedly, the vast majority of known importers, online traders, physical salespeople and consumers are in China," according to her, adding that there was a need to address the threat before it developed into another wildlife crisis. Stewart-Cox called for collaboration among governments and civil society to tackle the issue before it threatens the survival of Asia's elephants. -- BERNAMA