Survivor: One of the orphaned baby elephants being raised in Kenya (Picture: DSWT)

Elephants could be extinct within 12 years because poachers are killing one every 15 minutes, a charity warns.

About 36,000 of them were slaughtered last year in Africa, the Kenya-based David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust claims in a report today.

‘A world without elephants is hard to comprehend but it is a real possibility,’ said Dame Daphne Sheldrick.

‘Elephants have walked the earth for 50million years but against a sub-machine gun or poacher armed with a spear, they stand little chance.’


The 4.5 tonnes of ivory seized in Hong Kong last month was a tiny fraction of the amount smuggled each year, says the trust which rescues and rears orphaned elephants.



Only about a tenth of the tusks transported are detected by customs officials, the charity estimates.

In Kenya so far this year, 162 elephants out of a population of about 35,000 have been killed, it adds in the report timed to coincide with World Elephant Day.

Dame Daphne, who said the trade put money in the hands of criminal gangs and terrorists, called for a ban on dealing in ivory of any kind, including antiques.

‘Buying ivory only serves to fuel a trade which results in more senseless deaths of these beautiful animals,’ she said. ‘We can’t let man-made extinction be the end of this iconic species.’

About a third of all ivory seizures worldwide are made in Europe, with Britain, Belgium, France and Portugal acting as transit routes, the trust says.

London is a ‘major hub’ for the illegal ivory trade, it claims.

It will protest against the trade by staging an international march for elephants on October 4, with events to be held in 15 cities across the world, including London.

Growing prosperity in China has been blamed for fuelling increased demand for ivory, which is sought-after in the country because it is a traditional symbol of wealth and status.