Elephant country turns into killing fields

ASIA TIMES
By Gautaman Bhaskaran

INDIA---Ironical as it may sound, even as the elephant is venerated as god in India, the animal is ruthlessly poached for its tusk which are used to make ivory and are even touted as a cure for several maladies, including baldness in men. And it comes as little surprise that 100 pachyderms were reportedly slaughtered in the forests of southern India (Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka) during the past 24 months. The picture is as grim in Africa, where elephants are being slaughtered on an unimaginable scale. In 2012, more than 35,000 of them—or close to 100 a day—were killed for their tusks. [link]