A battle is being fought across Africa with ever-increasing brutality—one between those who seek to protect the continent’s wildlife and those who seek to hunt them to feed the seemingly insatiable global demand, not least in Asia, for endangered animal parts. At the heart of this conflict is money, particularly the vast sums that can be made from trading in elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn. The emergence of an affluent middle class in countries like China and Vietnam—who still see these items as aspirational or medicinal—has driven prices to dizzying heights.
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