The current, March 10, edition of Newsweek includes a story, by Sharon Begley, headed, "Extinction Trade:
Endangered animals are the new blood diamonds as militias and warlords use poaching to fund death."

The article tells us of an attack on stores of ivory in which three rangers were killed, and informs us that some 100 are killed every year defending Africa's wildlife. Then Begley tells us:

"In an ominous sign of how the killing of endangered animals has evolved from a crime committed by small bands of unorganized, mostly poor operators, these attackers were Janjaweed, the militia that has carried out genocidal attacks in Darfur. Lured by easy money, the Janjaweed have expanded their killing fields to endangered species. In the past two years, they have butchered hundreds of elephants around Zakouma, say Chadian authorities, carrying the tusks back to Sudan, where they are secreted on ships bound mostly for Asia—or traded for weapons.

"For the Janjaweed, killing elephants is the least of its atrocities. But the militia's move into ivory poaching signals a terrifying turn in the world's efforts to save vanishing species. The battle is no longer just about the elephant's trumpet never again echoing over the African savanna, or the Bengal tiger's roar being heard only in memory. The threat posed by the contraband wildlife trade is now also about the money it generates—wave upon wave of it—that is being used by very bad people to do very bad things...."

We learn that poachers have been traced to a Somali warlord and others who kill people -- and that the market "has reached $10 billion a year and possibly twice that. China is the largest market, with the United States a close second."

We read about shipments, discovered too late, of 40 tons of contraband ivory, and "That represents 4,000 killed elephants, an indication of how brutally effective the new poachers are."

And we learn that the highly endangered northern white rhino was making a comeback in Garamba National Park rebounding from 13 to 32 by 2003. "But late that year Janjaweed militias armed with AK-47s began arriving, and the slaughter began" and "As of last year, there were two rhinos left in Garamba, a death sentence for that population."

We also read, "Hutu extremists tied to the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, abducted and killed two baby gorillas from Congo. Although some black-market buyers prefer the primates alive, stuffed ones can bring enough for a nice haul of assault rifles."

Begley ends her article with:
"Just as the ultimate blame for drug lords who murder the innocent lies with users, so the blame for a wildlife trade that sustains organized crime and genocidal militias lies with the buyers. 'There is a vague awareness in America that some things, they shouldn't be buying,' says McMurray. 'But the psychology seems to be that if it's in a store [or online] it must be OK.' Americans who buy ivory carvings (easily available online), Japanese who collect the ivory signature seals called hankos and Chinese who clamor for 'medicines' made from tiger bone are not supporting some lone poacher who's trying to feed his family. They're putting money into the coffers of the Janjaweed, warlords and possibly even worse actors. With the new wildlife traffickers, it's not only animals whose lives are at stake."

The article, which relays much important information, can be found on line at:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/117875

It includes a photo gallery headed "Global Traffic in Wildlife", which provides more important information. For example we see a baby macaque being held by the neck with the caption:

"A macaque monkey that sells for $10 at a bird market in Indonesia will likely be resold for $30,000 to labs for testing. Although it is illegal to purchase an animal from the wild for testing, establishing an animal's origins is often difficult."

I had at least some discomfort with the tone of the article, perhaps well summed up in the headline, which suggests that "poaching" is separate from "death." While I understand the expectation that the human toll may give the story more weight for readers than the loss of non humans, even whole species, I wonder if that is necessarily so. Yet I am pleased to see the issue covered in Newsweek, and the cruelty connections drawn. We can make sure the discussion continues with letters to the editor.
Newsweek takes letters at
letters@newsweek.com

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published. And please be sure not to use any exact comments or phrases from me or from any other alerts in your letters. Editors are looking for original responses from their readers.

The Newsweek web story also pointed to a "What you can do to help" page on the International Fund for Animals web site: http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=17919

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)