That's a jumbo manicure! Elephant has its tusked trimmed legally as wildlife charities urge crackdown on ivory trade fueled by poaching

• The tusks were legally trimmed to enable animals to eat more easily
• But campaigners say Thai legal trade is fueling illegal slaughter in Africa
  
• 70 years ago 5m elephants are believed to have roamed sub-Saharan Africa
• Now, just several hundred thousand are left - and 25,000 were killed in 2011

By Amanda Williams

PUBLISHED: 07:18 EST, 2 March 2013 | UPDATED: 12:27 EST, 2 March 2013

It certainly gives a new meaning to having an expensive manicure.

These workers carefully trim an elephant's valuable ivory tusk during a ceremony at Mahawangchang elephant camp in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.

The tusks were legally trimmed to enable the animals to eat more easily. But it comes as the camp tries to raise awareness about poaching, and warn that cutting tusks without knowledge of its anatomy is dangerous for the animals.

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Workers legally trim an elephant's tusk during a ceremony at Mahawangchang elephant camp in Kanchanaburi, Thailand

Workers at the elephant camp carefully trimmed the elephants' tusks in an effort to raise public awareness about poaching and warn that cutting tusks without knowledge of its anatomy is dangerous for the animals

The tusks were legally trimmed to enable the beasts to eat more easily. According to conservationists the thriving legal trade in Thailand is helping fuel the slaughter of elephants in Africa

According to conservationists the thriving legal trade in Thailand is helping fuel the slaughter of elephants in Africa, where the largest land mammals on earth are facing their worst poaching epidemic in decades.

Experts now believe more are being killed than are being born.

The trade in 'blood ivory' will be among the most critical issues to be debated at the 177-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, which will begin on Sunday in Bangkok.

And Thailand, which is hosting the meeting, will be under particular pressure to take action.

It is not only a major hub for illegally trafficked wildlife - it is also where much of the ivory smuggled out of Africa ends up.

'Instead of being part of the problem, the Thai government can be part of the solution by banning ivory sales' altogether within its borders, said Janpai Ongsiriwittaya of the World Wildlife Fund.

Last week, the conservation group presented a global petition with more than half a million signatures to Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, calling on her government to do just that.

The trade is currently legal in Thailand as long as it involves tusks that came from native herds that have been domesticated.

Yingluck responded by saying she recognised the importance of elephant conservation and would take the plea into consideration.

Thai wildlife officials have ruled out an all-out ban on ivory in the past because those Thais who legitimately own domesticated animals should also have the right to buy and sell tusks locally.

But once ivory enters Thai markets either legally or illegally it is difficult to trace where it came from.

Nevertheless, 'most of the supply we see in Thai markets is illegally smuggled in from Africa,' Janpai said.

 

Elephants get their tusks trimmed for health reasons

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Thai custom officials display seized ivory tusks during a news conference at the customs office of Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. Thailand allows its nationals to trade in ivory from elephants that have died of natural causes inside its borders

Thailand is not only a major hub for illegally trafficked wildlife, it is also where much of the ivory smuggled out of Africa ends up

Thailand itself is home to about 6,500 elephants, of which 2,500 are wild and off-limits.

Of the remaining 4,000, only 1,500 are males that produce tusks, and many grow only one in their lifetimes. By contrast, there are an estimated 5,000 ivory traders doing business in the country, far more than the local supply should be able to support, Janpai said.

Scanlon said the illegal wildlife trade is worth up to $20 billion per year globally. And to control it, the international community has to be willing to 'deploy the sorts of techniques that are being deployed with respect to narcotics,' he said.

Around 70 years ago, up to 5 million elephants are believed to have roamed sub-Saharan Africa.

Today, just several hundred thousand are left, 25,000 of which were killed in 2011. Figures for 2012 have yet to be released, but they are believed to be similar to the previous year, or worse, Scanlon said.

An elephant handler takes a nap as he waits for tourists. A meeting to be held in Bangkok on Sunday will put the spotlight on Thailand's role in the illicit trade in African ivory

Thailand will host the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting from Sunday until March 14

Although all African states agree no elephant should be killed for its tusks, there is disagreement over how best to protect the iconic animals.

Some argue that legalising the ivory trade within reason give upon the animals a monetary worth that encourages humans to value their survival.

But others say the only to stop poaching is to outlaw the sale of ivory everywhere, killing demand and ending their slaughter.

Thailand's government has said it has done what it can. In the past two years, customs officers here have seized close to 2,000 kilograms (4,409 pounds) of African tusks, sometimes found broken apart into small pieces in failed attempts to avoid detection.

TRAFFIC has called for CITES members to impose trade sanctions against Thailand - along with Nigeria and Congo - alleging they are complicit in the illegal ivory trade.

'There's certainly an issue here, it's been dealt with more slowly than many would like,' Scanlon said.

But sanctions, he said, were premature and Thailand needs to be given the opportunity to put in place new measures to ensure they are 'not allowing laundered African ivory into this system.'