"Terminator" icon Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) new video as part of a campaign to save African elephants from illegal poaching. The video shows Schwarzenegger blowing up an elephant tusk with explosives in order to get rid of the demand for ivory tusks.
WCS, a conservationist group based at the Bronx Zoo in New York, said the elephant tusk blown up in the video was donated by the Los Angeles Zoo. The group added that this year, over 42 tons of illegally poached ivory, also called 'the white gold of jihad,' were openly destroyed across eight countries worldwide.
"We are extremely grateful Arnold Schwarzenegger has joined the 96 Elephants campaign, and we are hopeful that his global following of fans will become allies to stop the killing, stop the trafficking and stop the demand of ivory," said WCS's 96 Elephants director John Calvelli.
WCS's campaign called "96 Elephants" is building a countrywide support community to tighten limitations of ivory's commercial sale in the U.S., which is the second biggest ivory market after China. Early in 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed limits and an almost complete ban of commercial ivory trade.
Backed by WCS, the proposed rules were opposed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) who said it will spur potential limits on guns with ivory handles, which are considered family heirlooms. NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker explained that the proposed limit will make a legally owned possession illegal by law. This will then make criminals out of decent citizens who possess a gun with ivory handles.
Though elephant ivory tusks appear sophisticated, illegal poaching these treasured teeth are brutal. The poachers use high-tech gear including helicopters, night-vision goggles and GPS equipment to locate African elephants before hacking the tusks off with an axe while the animal is still alive. Ivory is used to make elaborate art and trinkets for buyers mostly concentrated in East Asia. The demand for ivory results in killing at least 96 elephants in Africa every day. In 2012, approximately 35,000 elephants were killed due to the high demand.
In June, a ton of seized ivory sculptures were publicly smashed in Times Square in New York. The ivory shards will be used to create an elephant memorial.
Photo: Gage Skidmore | Flickr
