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We may be the last generation to see elephants in the wild. Because people still want ivory.
我們這一代可能是最后一代能見到野生大象的人了。因?yàn)槿藗內(nèi)韵氆@取象牙。
Nearly two-thirds of all forest elephants have been killed for their tusks in the last decade, some 60 elephants per day. At least 30,000 elephants of all three remaining species have died each year in recent years. At that rate, wild elephants will be gone in just a few decades. All so their modified incisors can be used as a raw material for art in Asia or the bows of string instruments in Europe.
在過去的十年里，大約有三分之二的叢林象因被奪去象牙而慘遭獵殺，被獵殺的數(shù)量平均每天約為60頭。近年來，在現(xiàn)存大象的三個(gè)品種中，每年至少有30,000頭象死亡 。照此死亡速率來算，野生大象將會(huì)在短短幾十年的時(shí)間里滅絕。這樣一來，加工過的象牙可被當(dāng)做亞洲藝術(shù)的原材料或歐洲弦樂器里的飾片。
In fact, the continued demand, along with the dwindling numbers of elephants, have pushed up prices for ivory. The resulting sales of tusks feed terrorist groups, not the poor. These extremist poachers employ machine guns, night-vision goggles and even helicopters.
事實(shí)上，人們對(duì)象牙的不斷需求，以及大象數(shù)量的不斷減少已造成了象牙價(jià)格攀升的局面。象牙銷售后，獲利的是恐怖組織，而非窮人。這些極端獵殺者使用機(jī)關(guān)槍、夜視鏡、甚至直升飛機(jī)來獵殺大象。
Only one action can save the world’s wild elephants, according to Elizabeth Bennett, Vice President for Species Conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society: close all ivory markets. Her analysis is in the journal Conservation Biology. [Elizabeth L. Bennett, Legal Ivory Trade in a Corrupt World and its Impact on African Elephant Populations]
據(jù)野生動(dòng)物保護(hù)協(xié)會(huì)物種保護(hù)部門副主席伊麗莎白·貝內(nèi)特稱，拯救世界野生大象只有一個(gè)方法：關(guān)閉所有象牙市場(chǎng)。其分析報(bào)告在生物保護(hù)學(xué)期刊中有記載。[伊麗莎白·L·貝內(nèi)特，論腐敗世界中的合法象牙交易及其對(duì)非洲大象數(shù)量的影響]
International trade in fresh ivory is already banned. But legal markets persist in Asia, fed by confiscated ivory stockpiles and antiques. Inevitably, those markets serve to launder poached ivory and drive demand. Therefore, all ivory markets must be closed. Otherwise we may be living through the end times for elephants.
國(guó)際貿(mào)易早已禁止交易新鮮象牙，但亞洲合法市場(chǎng)仍在進(jìn)行，該市場(chǎng)充斥著沒收的象牙存貨及其古董和收藏品。不可避免的是，這些市場(chǎng)也為走私偷獵象牙及刺激需求提供便利。因此，所有的象牙市場(chǎng)必須關(guān)閉。否則，在我們有生之年中，我們將目睹大象的滅絕。
