Asian markets push illegal ivory (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

The illegal ivory trade is expanding, driven by East Asian crime syndicates, according to the wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic.

The syndicates gather ivory in Africa for export to East Asian countries.

The biggest market is mainland China, though there is also significant trade to other countries such as Thailand and the Philippines.

Traffic says there are 92 illegal ivory seizures per month, and the number of large hauls has doubled in a decade.

Its report will be presented to next month's meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), where wildlife campaigners hope it will put pressure on governments whose countries are used by the traffickers.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6644365.stm

[Deja Q]

1. Well, they pirate a lot of software and media - doesn't stop

software and media companies from offshoring jobs to them either...

:shrug: