To The Editor:

We are in the midst of a poaching crisis of unprecedented scale and horrific cruelty. This abhorrent trade is fundamentally fueled by consumers who are deceived by those selling illicit ivory products. Fortunately, the Connecticut legislature is in the process of taking action.

Unfortunately, Newtown's State Representative Mitch Bolinsky is the main force stalling efforts to pass this bill. Rep Bolinsky is doing the bidding of a few antique dealers when he should instead be doing the bidding of his constituents, who care deeply about animals.

The poachers' cruelty cannot be understated: they invade protected parks, killing elephants (and sometimes park rangers if they get in the way… more than 1,000 park rangers have been killed by poachers while on duty over the last decade). Poachers then hack off the elephants'faces to remove their tusks, sometimes while the elephants are still alive. Orphaned baby elephants often die as they cannot yet fend for themselves. This brutal slaughter is occurring at a rate so high - in Africa, 96 elephants are killed by poachers every day - that extinction may occur within a few decades.

The illegal wildlife trade is a billion-dollar global industry that bankrolls terrorists, like the Lord's Resistance Army and other African militias. The international community has been assisting government partners in Africa, but many experts, including the US Fish and Wildlife Service, agree that choking off market demand is a much-needed tool.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service encourages statewide action to complement federal action because statewide sales bans close gaps that the federal government does not have the capacity to address.

To fool law enforcement or unsuspecting customers, illegally obtained ivory can be stained to make it look antique, and documentation of provenance can be falsified. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, criminal investigations and anti-smuggling efforts have shown clearly that these fraudulent practices allow the legal ivory trade to serve as a cover for illegal trade. Making the selling of ivory illegal eliminates the need for guesswork, by both law enforcement and consumers, about whether poaching was involved, thus circumventing the visual identification difficulties and rampant fraud.

Connecticut's nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Accountability estimates that four to eight cases may be prosecuted annually in our state if this law passes.

Not unexpectedly, pro-ivory trade interests from all over the country who have a stake in perpetuating the pernicious trade have been aggressively trying to kill HB 5578, mostly through misrepresentation and fear mongering.

The United States has one of the world's largest markets in ivory, and states all around Connecticut have either passed a ban (NY, NJ) or are in the process (MA, VT, RI). We must follow suit or else Connecticut could become a vibrant haven for illicit ivory.

Voters in Newtown should contact Rep Bolinsky immediately (please call 860-240-8700 and e-mail Mitch.Bolinsky@housegop.ct.gov) and demand that he reverse his position and support HB 5578. We cannot kick this can down the road: elephants and rhinos do not have the luxury of time.

Annie Hornish

Connecticut Senior State Director

The Humane Society of the United States

April 21, 2016