If you haven't been keeping up with the rollercoaster that has been British politics lately you may not be aware that elephants have been a victim of this election.
The Conservative government pledged in its 2010 and 2015 manifesto's to bring about the complete closure of the UK's domestic ivory market. To date they have failed to honour this pledge, despite the crisis facing Africa's elephants being debated in parliament twice within two months, the later just being in February 2017.
Since the Conservative government's first pledge in 2010 - 200,000 elephants have been killed for their ivory. Despite this figure, and the ongoing pressure on the government to honour their pledge and ban the UK Ivory trade - the Conservatives actually removed it altogether from their 2017 manifesto.
The UK is the largest exporter of ivory in the EU, so as well as allowing the ivory trade to thrive in the UK, we play a major role in feeding demand for ivory. This makes the UK a complicit player in the ongoing poaching that is driving elephants to extinction in the wild.
Despite its commitment to support African countries in their efforts to end poaching, and with 85% of the British population wanting a total ban, the government is instead prioritising the interests of a tiny number of British antique dealers. These dealers are the obstacle to a full ban and are lobbying for the sale of antique (defined as pre-1947) ivory to continue.
It's hard to believe that our government has made a conscious decision to remove this pledge from their manifesto and to allow the brutal killing to continue. Although it does start to become clearer once you know that wealthy antiques dealer, Lady (Victoria) Borwick, the Tory candidate for Kensington and the president of the British Antique Dealer's Association, is a friend of Theresa May's.
There was a very small glimmer of hope when Lady Borwick lost her seat in the recent election, meaning she won't be in parliament to influence any future vote on the UK ivory trade (if that ever happens!) although I'm sure she will stay close to Theresa May and do her best to ensure her earnings and a few pointless ornaments are perceived as more important than the future of this beautiful species.
If you love elephants and want to see the UK following the US and China in introducing a complete ban on the UK Ivory trade please please please keep campaigning and keep the pressure on your local MP - especially if they are Conservative - to ensure this important issue is not forgotten. It needs to be re-added to the agenda - NOW!
One elephant is killed every 15 minutes for its ivory, with more being shot for fun by big game hunters. In the time it has taken you to read this post another elephant has been killed, another baby has been orphaned and another payment been made to the very people who have the ability to put a stop to this madness.
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