“News from Burundi has made my Pappy unhappy,” Felix entered the dorm room with MysticBeast Pappy alongside him. “A recent study has taken the focus back to ivory. Ivory is a hard creamy white substance found in the tusks of animals such as walruses and elephants.
Humans used to make ornaments and jewelry out of ivory. And to get the ivory, humans killed many elephants,” declared Felix.
“Oh!” said a shocked Scorch.
“I am shocked too. Felix, can you explain the study in detail,” demanded Orak.
“Let me tell you from the beginning. We will have to start from Burundi, a country in Africa. Burundi was once a hub of the ivory trade. It means lakhs of elephants were killed to get their tusks.
These tusks were sold in Burundi and other places around Africa and the world to make jewelry. But later ivory lost its value as the world put a ban on its use.
In 1987, Burundi also banned the selling and buying of ivory. Following this ban, the traders could not use the ivory. The Burundi government took the ivory from the traders and kept it safely in its stores.
About seven huge containers were kept under security. The ivory was sealed and marked. But since 2015, ivory started to return in the markets around the world. This was shocking, especially because the ivory had Burundi markings.
Between 2017 and 2019, officials captured more ivory. The seized ivory was sent for research. It was found that the ivory belonged to elephants killed between 2015 and 2017. And one ivory belonged to an elephant that was killed over 30 years ago,” explained Felix.
“Oh! You are saying that the stored ivory is not safe! Illegal trade is happening!” said Scorch.
“You are right! That’s why experts are urging many African countries to destroy the ivory. This way there will never be illegal trade,” added Felix.
“I hope humans never harm animals for their benefit,” Scorch was almost fuming.