In the struggle to secure animal rights for our creatures on this planet, we see slight glimmers of hope in pockets of the world. India’s Supreme Court is currently considering banning elephant rides in Goa and Rajasthan; Arusha and Dar-es-Salaam courts are currently prosecuting poachers, and their new President Magufuli appears to be armed with a solid stance against wildlife crimes and corruption; Kenya is planning to destroy their ivory stockpile in an apparently large public event to make a bold statement; and elephant deaths in Kenya are down by 80% vs 2013 figures. South Sudan has also recently discovered a small population of the rare and critically endangered Forest Elephant.
Amidst the doom and gloom of the ivory trade issue that we are all too familiar with, small successes show progress. And when there’s progress, there’s hope.