CAIRO: At least 100 elephants have been found dead in a national park in Cameroon, the United States-based International Fund for Animal Welfare reported on Thursday. The deaths have sparked outrage among animal rights activists in West Africa, who told Bikyamasr.com via telephone that the ongoing poaching at national parks must end. “We have been pushing local governments for a while now to boost security in these parks, but for the most part, it has done little to do so,” said Amir, a Ghana-based animal rights advocate. He argued “this is just want has been made public, but poaching happens all the time.” The group's elephant expert, Celine Sissler-Bienvenue, said the corpses were found in Bouba Njida National Park, which skirts Cameroon's northern border with Chad. Sissler-Bienvenue said the elephants' tusks were missing, and that Sudanese ivory poachers were believed to be behind the killings. “With the proceeds from ivory sales, the purchase of weapons is funded for use in regional conflicts,” she said. “The continued slaughter of elephants in Africa will only stop when the demand for ivory, especially in Asia, ceases.” BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/I9yxv Tags: Cameroon, Elephants, Poachers Section: Animals, Latest News, West Africa
