Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 196, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 August 1910 — Stop Killing of Elephants [ARTICLE]

Stop Killing of Elephants

Friends of Pachyderm in England and France Urge Reserves to Halt Extinction. London. —Whethei At be the outcome of Mr. Roosevelt’s recent hunting trip in Africa or not, a meeting held by the French society known as “The Friends of the Elephant,” at which it was decided to approach the French government with the object of securing better reserves for elephants in Africa, has had the effect of reviving some interest in the same matter among members of the sister society in London. Lieut. Col. John Henry Patterson, one of the most active members of the society, said in an interview: “In the United Kingdom this question lias been ably and zealously dealt with by the Society for the Preservation of the Wild Fauna of the Empire. “The objects of the association are to create a sound public opinion on the subject of the preservation of wild

life, both at home and in the colonies and British dependencies; to further the formation of game reserves and sanctuaries, the selection of the most suitable places for these sanctuaries and the enforcing of suitable game laws and regulations. “The society devotes considerable attention to the preservation of elephants, and has sent many deputations on the subject to successive foreign and colonial secretaries. Elephant reserves at present exist in all our African colonies where those animals are found. In British Gambia no elephants are allowed to be killed, and it is hoped that similar sanctuary will, owing to the efforts of the French society, be extended to the elephants in the French West African possessions. “For the year ended March, 1908, 539 tons of ivory, worth $2,802,760, were imported into the United Kingdom alone. Taking the average t.usk to weigh 40 pounds (a very liberal estimate), this means the death of more than fifteen thousand elephants... The ivory was-practically all Africa#, the quantity from India being only of the value of $175,000 If this animal slaughter is allowed to continue we are, alas! already in sight of the extinction of the African elephant, but it is hoped that the efforts of the British and French societies will stir public opinion and prevent such a deplorable loss to the fauna of the world.”