Pope Francis Pushes For Crackdown on Ivory Trafficking
There’s a moral imperative to end the illegal trade in natural resources, the Pope says.
Ivory trafficking fuels political instability and terrorism, Pope Francis said on November 26 in Kenya. During his landmark trip to Africa, he is urging action against trafficking in ivory, diamonds, and other natural resources.
"Illegal trade in diamonds and precious stones, rare metals or those of great strategic value, wood, biological material and animal products, such as ivory trafficking and the related killing of elephants, fuels political instability, organised crime and terrorism," he said in a speech at the United Nations office in Nairobi, Kenya. "We cannot be silent about forms of illegal trafficking which arise in situations of poverty."
Poachers kill some 30,000 elephants each year to feed the demand for ivory, and there is growing pressure for the
