Stop elephant poachers at all costs

According to a report published by this newspaper on Thursday, multiple smuggling syndicates are allegedly hunting the endangered Asian elephants in Chattogram region and the hill tracts. Law enforcers came up with this information recently after arresting five people in two separate incidents along with three elephant ivories in Chattogram. They also discovered that the tusks were being smuggled from Banshkhali and the CHT after the smugglers poached the elephants in deep jungle.

In another report published on the same day, four individuals from Ramu upazila of Cox's Bazar electrocuted an Asian elephant and mutilated it in an attempt to cover up the killing. In recent years, according to the International Union of Conservations of Nature (IUCN), 12 elephants were killed after being shot by poachers, while in the last 20 years, at least 120 of these endangered elephants have been killed—mostly through electrocution and shooting.

Since 1986, the IUCN has labelled the Asian elephants as "endangered" as their population has declined by at least 50 percent over the last three elephant generations, which is about 60-75 years. In an attempt to circumvent the law and continue to kill elephants and sell their tusks, poachers have been using the pretext of human-elephant conflict. Reportedly, some of the smugglers apprehended by the police were on the verge of selling the elephant tusks for Tk 35,000. Law enforcers are now running investigations to unearth more information about the black market where poachers are selling elephant tusks after killing the animal.

Despite having laws in place to prevent the killing of these endangered animals and to punish poachers, it is disappointing that the authorities have been unable to stop a decline in the elephant population. The Asian elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas, and we must do our utmost to protect them.

Unfortunately, the results show we have so far failed in that. That has to change. We cannot allow these animals to go extinct. The authorities must redouble their efforts to prevent poachers from taking advantage of human-elephant conflict to murder these animals. In that regard, the Forest Department and law enforcement agencies must work together. If needed, stricter measures should be put in place to prevent poaching and reduce human-elephant conflict. Finally, the authorities should do more to protect elephant habitats and also conduct more research on proper conservation of these endangered animals.