2011, record year for elephant poaching

The international wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC says 23 tons of ivory have been seized in 2011 that is more than any year since 1989. The group said the amount of the seized ivory represents more than 2,500 dead elephants that is a record since the trade was banned in 1989. "The escalating large ivory quantities involved in 2011 reflect both a rising demand in Asia and the increasing sophistication of the criminal gangs behind the trafficking," TRAFFIC said in a statement. "Most illegal shipments of African elephant ivory end up in either China or Thailand." The group said there had been at least 13 large seizures of ivory this year, compared to six last year. In a recent case hundreds of African elephant tusks were seized in Malaysia which worth about $1.3 million.