The poaching of elephants for ivory, meat, hide and other elephant parts (mainly for use in traditional medicine) is still prevalent in many countries across Asia. Despite worldwide protection through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Treaty, the lack of effective enforcement and the remoteness of areas of elephant habitat means that there are those that still kill elephants for profit.
Presence of moral conflict. Being morally upright indeed produces optimistic feeling and human are motivated to present the self as moral. To be immoral is perceived to be placed outside the human moral community. This means a loss of dignity and reciprocity with others. When poaching is committed (morally wrong action), a social and cognitive disequilibrium in moral conflict surfaced. Humans tend to apply defensive strategies such as self-righteousness, denial and displacement of feelings. These allow the person to attempt to keep intact their self-image as a moral person without admitting the possibility they did wrong. Poaching elephants for their ivory and meat are some examples of cases where attitudes and beliefs are associated with moral exclusion.
1) Ivory Trade
Typical good luck pieces craved in Thailand today. The first four on the left are Buddhas, then a singha (lion), Nanggwak, and on the far right is Luang Paw Derm, a revered monk now deceased.
Legal loopholes and insufficient law enforcement mean that Thailand continues to harbour the largest illegal ivory market in Asia, according a report from the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC. Tourism is the main driving factor behind the ivory market in Thailand and the country enjoys continued growth in this sector. The Office of Tourism Development of Thailand reported that there were 13.82 million visitors in 2006 and 14.46 million in 2007 (Stiles, 2009).
Recent Case, 2010: Massive Haul of Ivory Seized in Thailand
Massive haul has been netted at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, consisting of 117 elephant tusks and 9 pieces of ivory weighing 765 kg and valued at 38.8 million baht (1.2 million dollars), was flown in from Kenya. This seizure reflects how Thailand has emerged as a hub for the illicit ivory trade. Ivory shipped to Thailand typically goes to the carvers who fashion it into Buddhist statues, bangles and jewelry to sell to tourist in Thailand. The U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species banned all international ivory trade in 1989. But a legal loophole in Thailand, which does not address domestic trade, has led to a thriving local ivory industry (Wild Life Direct, 2010).
Prospect Theory. People give more weight to a possible loss than a possible gain. The thought of losing potential revenue override the thought of saving an elephant’s life. The successful tourism industry served as an excuse for people to engage in the ivory trade. Producing the ivory market to sell to tourist is a good way to generate revenue since it is in great demand. This led to people refusing to accept (denial) that they have a role to play in the problem and the imbalance of this moral conflict exacerbated.
2) Eating Elephants As A Threat Of Extinction
The quest for ivory remains the top reason for poachers to kill elephants in Thailand. However, elephants in Thailand may now face a new threat of extinction because of a developing tastes for its meat.
New York Daily News reported two wild elephants found slaughtered December 2011 in a national park in western Thailand, alerting authorities to the new practice of consuming elephant meat. “The poachers took away the elephants’ sex organs and trunks for human consumption,” Damrong Phidet, director-general of Thailand’s wildlife agency. He said that some of the meat was being consumed raw, in a elephant meat sashimi style. It is believed that consuming animals’ reproductive organs can boost sexual prowess .
This pose a significant risk to the survival of the elephants. There is only a handful of people who like to elephant meat now, but once there is demand, poachers will find it hard to resist the big source of income (New York Daily News, 2012).
Displacing Responsibilities. Humans displaced their conflicting feelings and moral responsibilities to the demand of elephant meat in the market. People belief that consuming animals’ reproductive organs can boost sexual ability, hence, self-convincing themselves that they are merely providing a helping hand to them to fulfill their needs.
Temporal Discounting. People have the tendency to discount risks whose negative effects will be felt in the distant future. Humans are more focus about earning the high profit of selling elephant meat than considering the livelihood of the elephants. This short-term thinking threatens the population of elephants.