Travel Tip Of The Day: Don’t Buy Ivory In Africa

For those not in the know, the ivory trade in Africa continues to hurt wildlife and fuel underground economies.

Fortunately many countries have enacted bans on the ivory trade, but this doesn’t stop all of the activity.

Outside the tourist areas, there are some places that try to sale ivory from elephants and rhinos in Africa.

Whatever you do, no matter how beautiful it is, don’t buy anything made out of ivory when you are visiting Africa.

It doesn’t matter if it was from a dead elephant or one that was poached, the very act of buying it continues the demand for the product.

If this doesn’t convince you, here are some facts:

An estimated 35,000 African elephants are being killed every year for ivory at the current rate — that’s around 100 a day.

In South Africa alone, over 1,000 rhinos are poached a year for their horns.

And these statistics are not on a downward trend like you might think, in fact, it’s been increasing exponentially.

For more information on what you can do to help, see Save The Rhino, and 15 Things You Can Do To Help Stop Rhino Poaching.

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