Washington—In a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is urging strong administrative action to end elephant and rhinoceros poaching and illegal ivory trafficking inside the United States.

Feinstein wrote: “While estimates of the extent of the world’s illegal ivory trade that occurs in the U.S. vary greatly, by all accounts a very significant amount of trafficking occurs within our borders. I have serious concerns that our current policies have not effectively reduced ivory trafficking within the U.S. nor adequately protected elephant and rhinoceros populations globally.”

“Elephant and rhinoceros poaching has increased dramatically in recent years, and is fueled in part by the demand for ivory in the United States. It is estimated by the African Wildlife Foundation that approximately 8% of the 470,000 remaining African elephants are poached illegally each year. Since 2010, this level of poaching is above the natural reproductive rates of elephants,” Feinstein added.

Full text of the letter follows:

December 9, 2013

The Honorable Sally Jewell
Secretary of the Interior
U. S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Secretary Jewell,

I am writing to request that you take the strongest possible administrative action to end elephant and rhinoceros poaching and the illegal trade in ivory. This should include developing a robust and systematic enforcement plan in coordination with your sister agencies to ensure our policies regulating the ivory trade are effectively implemented. While estimates of the extent of the world’s illegal ivory trade that occurs in the U.S. vary greatly, by all accounts a very significant amount of trafficking occurs within our borders. I have serious concerns that our current policies have not effectively reduced ivory trafficking within the U.S. nor adequately protected elephant and rhinoceros populations globally.

Elephant and rhinoceros poaching has increased dramatically in recent years, and is fueled in part by the demand for ivory in the United States. It is estimated by the African Wildlife Foundation that approximately 8% of the 470,000 remaining African elephants are poached illegally each year. Since 2010, this level of poaching is above the natural reproductive rates of elephants. The conclusion that experts draw is that African elephants are now at risk of extinction. Exceptions under current FWS regulations that allow legal ivory to enter and circulate in domestic markets, and the absence of adequate controls over ivory within the United States, have made enforcement of ivory trafficking extremely difficult. Strong and effective action by the federal government is needed to eliminate ivory trafficking and to reduce wildlife poaching.

I applaud the actions that the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) recently took in crushing its contraband ivory stockpile and providing additional protections for the Southern White Rhinoceros under the Endangered Species Act. I specifically encourage you, as a co-chair of the President’s Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking, to eliminate both the Special Rule on African Elephant Ivory and Law Enforcement Memorandum 24. These actions would significantly reduce the domestic ivory market. I would also encourage you to fully utilize your authorities under the Endangered Species Act, the African Elephant Conservation Act, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora to further eliminate illegal wildlife trade within and across the United States.

Please keep me updated on your Department’s actions to address ivory trafficking and to conserve our world’s precious elephant and rhinoceros populations. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

cc:

The Honorable John Kerry, Secretary of State
The Honorable Eric Holder, Attorney General