Tragic photo of poached elephant reveals the heartbreaking reality of Burma’s illegal skin trade with China
Mutilated Asian elephant lies on its knees after being hacked to death by cruel poachers
THIS is the grisly photo that reveals the heartbreaking reality of the elephant poaching industry.
A once-majestic Asian elephant lies reduced to its knees in the midst of rainforest - butchered to satisfy growing demand for Chinese medicines.
Great swatches of its side have been hacked away - a grim reminder of the skin trade that threatens the animal just as greatly as ivory poachers.
Chinese demand for elephant skin has rocketed in recent years.
And Burma's tiny population is being decimated by its giant neighbour's demand for the tiny trinkets and medicine that are produced from elephant hide.
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More than 50 of Burma's 4,000 remaining wild elephants have been killed and skinned by poachers this year alone.
That comes despite a worldwide ban on the sick trade.
But while the skin continues to sell at £45 a kilo, experts fear they will struggle to contain the black market's growth.
One illegal trader told the : "I have a customer in Guangdong.
"I delivered 30-plus kilos of elephant skin for the first time. He sold it all, and needed to order more."
The Asian elephant population has been decimated over the last 100 years, falling from a peak of around 700,000 to 40,000 today.
Most of those reside in India.
The grisly picture was released just days before a shock new report that suggested the larger African elephant also faces a battle against extinction.
Populations of the world's biggest land mammal have decreased by around 100,000 in just ten years.
And experts said poaching for ivory was the main driver of the worrying trend.
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