The illegal ivory trade drives poaching that kills tens of thousands of elephants annually, causing extreme welfare suffering and threatening population viability, with demand reduction and enforcement both essential for ending the trade.
Elephant poaching causes welfare harm at multiple levels. Individual elephants are shot, sometimes surviving injuries for days before dying. Poaching methods including poison and explosives cause prolonged suffering. Calves that witness family deaths and survive suffer psychological trauma that wildlife researchers have documented. The disruption of complex family group structures by poaching has long-term welfare and behavioral consequences for surviving elephants. The welfare case against ivory trade at any scale is overwhelming, and demand reduction in remaining markets is the most effective long-term strategy.