Warning: Some Graphic Images
Dogs are known as man's best friend, but elephants are my best friends. Although I have never interacted with this beautiful creature in real life, I can not help but feel connected to them. Elephants travel in herds, represent good luck, and never forget anything. This isn't an article to praise the elephants, this is an article to bring awareness. The elephants need our help.
Both Asian and African elephants are endangered species, but are still being hunted. Both breeds of elephants are being hunted and killed for the ivory found in their tusks. Innocent animals are being killed for the same material that the hunter's fingernails are made of. Ivory is found in human fingernails- just at a lower concentration. To make the situation worse, the elephants are killed brutally. The elephants are targeted in herds, and the entire herd is shot with an automatic weapon just to have their tusks removed with an ax and/or a chainsaw. On average, every fifteen minutes an elephant is killed for its ivory. These tusks are sold illegally, and the black market is making a profit off of the murder of innocent animals. It is time to not just blame other countries for this heinous act. China is the biggest country to profit off of this illegal act, but the U.S. has the second-largest retail market for illegal ivory.
It is not just illegally that elephants are hurt. Circus acts that include elephants are very damaging to the animal as well. The elephants are forever scarred by the acts put on in the circus. In order to "successfully" do their tricks, elephants are whipped and chained and poked by bull-hooks. The bull-hooks are essentially a cane with a nail attached to the end. The elephants are followed by this hook in order to walk in a straight line and do other various "circus" tasks. If done incorrectly, the elephant will get maimed by the hook. Elephants who live and travel with the circus live in their own personal hell, and a cycle of cruelty and pain. On the off chance the elephants are let out of their circus enclosure, they are required to walk around with chains on their feet. A place where one is being beaten into submission is not a safe environment for any animal to live in. This is only how the circus cruelty starts: baby elephants are taken away from their mother, depriving them from nurture, and if the bull-hook is not enough, they are electroshocked.
With all the horrible things done to elephants, it is hard to believe there is a way to save them. There are many organizations to help stop the cruelty of the elephants and the illegal ivory trade. Good news is possible, with the various petitions and organizations such as Save the Elephants. Websites such as The Elephant Pants and Ivory Ella donate some of their profit to helping save the elephants. Recently, Kenya has enacted a total ban on elephant ivory trade. With this new policy, Kenyans burned the ivory illegally obtained from more than 6,000 elephants. Jack Dixon said "If you focus on change, you will get results". It is time we changed. The U.S. has a huge role in the mistreatment of elephants and we need to change that. There is hope in the world for the elephants.
