The World Wildlife Fund in Thailand has launched a year-long campaign to end the rampant ivory trade in the nation, whose national symbol, ironically, is the elephant. Traders exploit legal loopholes, contributing to a rapid decline in the elephant population in Thailand and neighboring Myanmar and Cambodia. WWF estimates that only some 2,000 wild elephants still live in Thai forests, another 3,000 have been domesticated, and all are imperiled by the ivory trade. The group’s campaign will target tourists visiting Thailand, hoping to educate them about the poaching of elephants.
