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ORISSA, INDIA, May 30, 2004: When black market ivory prices soar, the deadly fate of elephants in Orissa increases proportionately. Conservationists have indicated that the elephant population recorded as 1,841 elephants in 2002 is at risk of being wiped out. The article says, “Official records reveal that during the last 13 years, poachers in Orissa have killed at least 181 tuskers. Orissa is the most important elephant habitat containing the bulk of the over 2,200 elephants in the region.” A Wildlife Protection Act passed in 1972 cites the killing of an elephant as a crime punishable by seven years in jail. However the State Government only pays lipservice to the problem of elephant poaching and the problem has been ignored. Biswajit Mohanty, a conservationist, says, “Even if culprits are arrested, there is no effort by the Forest Department to ensure their punishment. Due to lack of sincere steps, no punishment has been awarded to poachers who have been caught in the past.”

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