London : A shocking new exhibit in London ’s Docklands was unveiled today to act as a memorial to the millions of elephants gunned down to feed the ivory trade. The exhibit, a huge bloody tusk has been built out of more than 700 pieces of ivory given up by people all over the country during a nationwide amnesty held by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

The components of the sculpted tusk range from bangles and piano keys to knife handles and whole tusks. The Memorial Tusk will be on display over the summer at the Museum in Docklands, along with displays highlighting the docks’ historical role at the heart of the ivory trade – and the plight of elephants still being killed for the trade today.

IFAW and Wildlife Trust of India formed a partnership in 2000 to strengthen the cause of wildlife conservation and animal welfare in India . The two organizations share concerns for a number of endangered animals. Through this collaboration, IFAW and WTI are developing strategies to find solutions to wildlife threats in India and the surrounding region.

Vivek Menon, executive director of the Wildlife Trust of India, has campaigned for many years against the sub-continent’s illegal wildlife trade, often leading undercover sting operations against wildlife traffickers. One of his particular passions is the Asian elephant, which has suffered dramatically from the ivory trade and increasing conflict with growing human populations. Speaking on the occasion of unveiling the Memorial Tusk, Vivek said, ” IFAW’s effort to publicize the ivory trade in the UK comes at a time when the British government is making up its mind about its position in CITES. The voluntary giving up of 700 pieces of ivory to be ground and fed into an hourglass is a clear statement from the public. Is anyone listening?”

London was the centre of the world’s ivory market in the early 20 th century, with up to 200 tonnes of ivory, from up to 5,000 dead elephants, arriving in the Port of London each year.

Today, the slaughter continues, with only 35,000 to 50,000 elephants left in Asia and between 400,000 and 660,000 in Africa – down from around 10 million in 1900. Some populations are tiny and unlikely to survive in the long term. There are only around 70 elephants left in Vietnam and 250 in the whole of China , for example. Today, Japan happens to be the biggest consumer of ivory, most of the ivory being used to make traditional seals called hankos, which are carved from pieces of ivory called inzais.

Although the international ivory trade was finally banned in 1989 after a decade in which Africa had lost half of its elephants to poachers, three countries with relatively healthy elephant populations are now lobbying to re-open the trade.

BBC and Animal Planet presenter Shauna Lowry, who unveiled the tusk said: “ The elephant is the largest living land mammal, and yet its future survival is in our hands. I am passionate about wildlife conservation and dedicated to raising awareness of the elephant’s plight. I am delighted that so many people have taken a symbolic step to help save this incredible species by supporting IFAW’s Ivory Amnesty.

“I’ve seen how traumatised elephants are when they lose one of their own through poaching – it is a tragic and heartbreaking scene. Only by raising awareness and deterring tourists from purchasing ivory when abroad will we reduce the slaughter that fuels the illegal trade.”

IFAW’s Wildlife Trade campaigner Jenny Hawley said: “Every piece of ivory in this exhibit represents a dead elephant, and we hope it will really make people realise that endangered elephants are still being killed for their tusks every day.

“We are urging the UK Government to do everything in its power to ensure that the proposed ivory sales do not go ahead, because this could really be the nail in the coffin for some of the world’s least protected elephant populations in Asia and West Africa .

“It is almost impossible to tell the difference between legal and illegal ivory once it’s been cut up for sale, so these legal ivory stockpile sales could give poachers an incentive to kill still more elephants.”

All pictures courtesy IFAW