Wildlife crimes and wildlife trafficking 

do not recognize national borders. 

African Wildlife was created to raise awareness about the perils facing our wildlife in Africa, due to poaching, trophy hunting, and habitat loss. 
A short while ago, someone tossed out an accusation toward us, that we had no right to meddle in the affairs of another country. We disagreed, as it appears that many countries are involved in perpetuating the wildlife abuses in Africa. 

Wildlife crime is the fourth largest global illegal trade. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32151983 

Five myths about illegal wildlife trafficking http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-illegal-wildlife-trafficking/2015/04/17/b43182fe-e3a1-11e4-b510-962fcfabc310_story.html 

The reason we are bringing any of this up, is that we are witnessing a trend in online activism, to vilify a country as being the sole aggressor in this war on wildlife. 
Saw this happen with the Taiji dolphin hunts in Japan. Not every Japanese citizen was responsible for this practice, yet frequently we would see vitriolic posts aimed at Japan as a whole. 

How are we to be taken seriously as activists and/or animal rights advocates, if we allow our outrage to turn us into nationalistic voices of hatred? 

The U.S.A. is the second largest global player in the ivory trade that threatens to render Africa’s elephants extinct. Yet again, and again, we are seeing horrific slanderous posts leveled at China and Vietnam. We have some incredible activists working within those countries to raise awareness about poaching elephants for tusks, and rhinos for horns. How can we say we support them, if we are slinging slurs at them for being of Chinese or Vietnamese descent? 

The U.S.A. does have a federal ivory ban in play, but it does not apply state by state. These articles explain in detail what role the U.S.A. plays in ivory trade. 

Citizens Spur States to Ban Trade in Ivory and Rhino Horn From Vermont to California, grassroots efforts drive state actions to protect elephants and rhinos. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150407-ivory-trade-vermont-usfws-victor-gordon-cities-nra/rptregcta=reg_free_np&rptregcampaign=2015012_invitation_ro_all 

Pianos and elephants clash at statehouse http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2015/04/09/vermont-ivory-ban-bill/25548043/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter 

Complicit In Slaughter: Ivory Bill Has Deadly Loophole 
http://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-daniels-ct-ivory-trrade-kills-elephants-0412-20150408-story.html 

When it comes to wildlife abuses, the U.S.A. is certainly not guilt free. We have much to answer for how we treat wildlife and wilderness in the United States. http://stopusdawsabuse.blogspot.com/p/predator-defense.html 

EXPOSED - USDA's Secret War on Wildlife https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSV8pRLkdKI&feature=youtu.be 

Published on Dec 1, 2013 In this award-winning film three former federal agents and a Congressman blow the whistle on Wildlife Services--a barbaric, wasteful and misnamed agency within the USDA--and expose the government's secret war on wildlife on the taxpayer's dime. Wildlife Services has been having their way for almost a century, killing over 100,000 native predators and millions of birds each year, as well as maiming, poisoning, and brutalizing countless pets. They have also seriously harmed more than a few humans. They apparently thought they were going to continue getting away with it. But with your help, we're not going to let them. Learn more and support our efforts to end America's war on wildlife at http://www.predatordefense.org/exposed. Exposed won the award for Best Wildlife Activism at the 2014 New York Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, the premier wildlife film festival in North America. 

You can take action here:

End taxpayer funded abuse, demand shelter reform.
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/end-taxpayer-funded-abuse.fb50?source=c.fb&r_by=1235249


USDA and GMO. http://blog.seedalliance.org/2014/02/12/whos-responsible-for-gmo-contamination/ 

Ok, hopping off the soapbox now. 
Wildlife crimes and wildlife trafficking are everyone’s business, if they are a citizen of planet Earth. 
We all have a role to play in stopping it. Maybe we can achieve this, without becoming hateful towards all folks who live in a country that has achieved notoriety for wildlife crimes.

~African Wildlife