Full Text of HR1149 98th General Assembly
HR1149 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Approximately 35,000 wild African elephants were | 3 | | brutally slaughtered in 2012 because of the demand for their | 4 | | tusks, which contain ivory; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The United States is the world's second largest | 6 | | market for ivory; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Illegal ivory is smuggled into the United States | 8 | | through a number of international airports, which include | 9 | | Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, on a routine basis; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The wild African elephant population has declined | 11 | | from 1.2 million in 1980 to just 420,000 in 2012 and Central | 12 | | Africa's forest elephant populations have declined by 75% in | 13 | | the last decade due to illegal poaching for ivory; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Elephant ivory currently sells for about $3,000 | 15 | | per kilogram, representing a value of $20,000 per elephant; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, With an estimated value between $10 billion and | 17 | | $20 billion per year, the illegal wildlife trade is a major | 18 | | trans-national crime run by professional criminal networks and | 19 | | is strongly linked to other trans-national organized criminal | 20 | | activities, such as narcotics, weapons, and human-trafficking; |
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, There is significant evidence that illegal trade | 3 | | in high-value wildlife parts, including elephant ivory, is | 4 | | being used as a source for financing terrorist organizations | 5 | | and armed groups that including the Lord's Resistance Army, | 6 | | al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda, and Sudanese militias; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The State Department of the United States has | 8 | | provided that criminal organizations' involvement in wildlife | 9 | | trafficking perpetuates corruption, threatens the rule of law | 10 | | and border security in fragile regions, and destabilizes | 11 | | communities that depend on wildlife for biodiversity and | 12 | | eco-tourism; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, In 1989, the Convention on the International Trade | 14 | | in Endangered Species (CITES) banned the international | 15 | | commercial trade in ivory; in the United States, the import, | 16 | | export, interstate trade, and commercial sale of ivory removed | 17 | | from the wild after the ban (and in some cases even earlier) is | 18 | | illegal, with a few exceptions; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, In many cases, documented ivory predating the 1989 | 20 | | ban (called "preconvention" ivory) can be traded; however, laws | 21 | | vary by state and by species; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, A major challenge to effective enforcement is that | 2 | | parallel legal ivory markets serve as a cover for illegal ivory | 3 | | from recently killed elephants, as it is extremely difficult to | 4 | | distinguish between legal ivory, including antiques and | 5 | | illegal ivory, once it is within our borders; in addition, | 6 | | counterfeit ivory certifications have flooded the market, | 7 | | making parallel legal ivory markets a contributing factor to | 8 | | elephant poaching across Africa; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, With limited enforcement, minimum penalties, and | 10 | | elaborate forgery schemes, traffickers are able to get illegal | 11 | | ivory into the United States market; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, As long as demand for ivory remains high and | 13 | | enforcement effort is low, the legal trade will continue to | 14 | | serve as a front and criminal syndicates will continue to drive | 15 | | elephant poaching across Africa, which will lead to the | 16 | | extinction of wild elephants in Africa; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The United States is the world's second largest | 18 | | importer and market after China for ivory sales; because | 19 | | current laws allow for the legal trade in certain ivory | 20 | | products and include broad loopholes and exemptions, there is | 21 | | significant illegal trade in ivory in the United States; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, As the United States reaches out to China, the |
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| 1 | | world's largest ivory consumer nation, and other countries to | 2 | | crack down on the illegal ivory trade, it is important for the | 3 | | United States and for the State of Illinois to stop the trade | 4 | | within our own borders and lead by example; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, States have an opportunity to lead the way during | 6 | | this critical time for Africa's elephants by establishing | 7 | | moratoria on the sale of all elephant ivory and ivory products; | 8 | | and | 9 | | WHEREAS, States can eliminate the significant enforcement | 10 | | challenge posed by the legal ivory trade, raise consumer | 11 | | awareness, reduce poaching pressures on elephants, and set a | 12 | | critical example for other state and federal lawmakers as well | 13 | | as other countries; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Brookfield Zoo, managed by the Chicago Zoological | 15 | | Society, the Lincoln Park Zoo, and Shedd Aquarium are | 16 | | accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, operate | 17 | | significant wildlife conservation programs locally and around | 18 | | the world, and are the most visited cultural destinations in | 19 | | Illinois; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Chicago Zoological Society, Lincoln Park Zoo, and | 21 | | Shedd Aquarium are partnering with the Wildlife Conservation | 22 | | Society, an international conservation organization that has |
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| 1 | | launched "96 Elephants", a campaign named for the number of | 2 | | elephants killed each day in 2012 by poachers, to raise | 3 | | awareness about the alarming rate at which wild African | 4 | | elephants are being poached because of the demand for ivory and | 5 | | to generate action in support of elephants and raise consumer | 6 | | awareness to encourage state and federal lawmakers to eliminate | 7 | | the significant enforcement challenge posed by the legal ivory | 8 | | trade; therefore, be it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 10 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 11 | | we recognize the work of Brookfield Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo, and | 12 | | Shedd Aquarium to raise awareness about the importance of | 13 | | enacting a moratoria on all ivory sales in the State of | 14 | | Illinois; and be it further
| 15 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 16 | | delivered to Dr. Stuart Strahl, President and CEO of the | 17 | | Chicago Zoological Society and Director of the Brookfield Zoo; | 18 | | Kevin Bell, President and CEO of Lincoln Park Zoo; and Ted A. | 19 | | Beattie, President and CEO of Shedd Aquarium in recognition of | 20 | | their support of a United States moratorium on illegal ivory, | 21 | | bolstering protection of African elephants, and educating the | 22 | | public about the link between ivory consumption, international | 23 | | terrorist organizations, and the elephant poaching crisis.
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