2014_STEAnnualReport

Elephant Crisis Fundanti-traffickingLack of adequate law enforcement, poor prosecutions and lenient sentencing are allowingorganised crime to grow rich on profits from the ivory trade. Well-connected traffickers andcorrupt politicians remain free while low-level poachers and smugglers take the heat. Meanwhileacross Africa international borders are too porous to prevent the flow of ivory. Sniffer dogs are apowerful tool for detecting ivory but even when available are often not effectively deployed.The poor legal environment for ivory crime prosecution was laid bare by an ECF-fundedinvestigation in Kenya by Wildlife Direct which revealed that in 2013 only four per cent ofoffenders convicted for wildlife crime went to jail. In cases against elephants and rhinos, seven percent were jailed and maximum fines for ivory possession were only $350. The hard-hitting reportwas widely circulated, and two days after the report was delivered to the president he signedinto law a new Wildlife and Conservation Act, increasing maximum penalties to $225,000, lifeimprisonment, or both. Soon after, a Chinese trafficker trying to leave Kenya with ivory was giventhe maximum fine and sentenced to seven years in prison.To address poor process in preparing cases the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions inKenya established a Wildlife Crime Team. The ECF has funded work to help magistrates andjustices understand the gravity of poaching and its effects on local communities, and supportsWildlife Direct in keeping eyes on every ivory case in Kenya’s courtrooms.To lay the foundations for impactful work with sniffer dogs, the ECF has funded Working Dogsfor Conservation to conduct a review of sniffer dog use across Africa to establish how support canbest be leveraged.Elsewhere on the continent, the ECF is financing work to expose and oust the kingpins behind theivory trade.increasinglyorganised crimehas turned to theivory trade, lured byfat profits and laxenforcement.08www.savetheelephants.org09 08