God's Ivory

Despite the CITES Treaty of 1989, banning the global trade in ivory and rhino horn, the illegal business of killing elephants and maiming rhinos continues. Following a three year project into the subject, Brent Stirton reveals the motivations behind his latest work and exposes the place religion occupies in the demand, and continuation, of the trade. To view the full story visit: http://journal.reportagebygettyimages.com/#!/issues/issue-2/gods-ivory/ Photography: Brent Stirton Reporting & Video: Bryan Christy Multimedia Production: Andrew Hida Archival Photography: Tom Stoddart Music: Getty Images Music With thanks to National Geographic Magazine A Reportage by Getty Images Production

At the end of April 2013, Reportage by Getty Images released the multimedia documentary, "God's Ivory," that explores the role that religion plays in driving and sustaining the illegal global ivory trade. I had the tremendous opportunity to produce this multimedia project--the result of a 3-year investigation by National Geographic contributing writer Bryan Christy, and Reportage by Getty Images staff photographer Brent Stirton. "God's Ivory" reveals the complexities of an ivory trade that closely resembles the illicit drug trade, where law enforcement has seen 10% success, further exacerbated by government complicity, institutional corruption, and the rising demand for ivory by expanding Asian economies. 

The demand for ivory as the material of choice for trinkets and spiritual carvings is fueling the largest elephant crisis facing many countries in Africa since the 1980's. Please watch this film to understand the gravity of this issue and how you can help stop the killing of the world's elephant population. 

Help spread the word about this video to your friends and family by sharing these links: 

On Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/65073709
On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4StI2aNpgM

Take the next step in protecting elephants: 

Big Life Foundation
Celia's Corner
Environmental Investigation Agency
International Fund for Animal Welfare
Save the Elephants.org
SOS Elephants