Saving Africa’s Elephants: Hugh and the Ivory War

Two of the world’s most iconic species are at the centre of this nightmare. With an average of 82 elephants and 4 rhino poached every day, there is now a real threat that these animals could become extinct in the wild. In this episode Hugh travels to Mozambique’s worst affected area, Niassa National Reserve, to find out why they have lost almost two thirds of their elephants in only three years. He joins conservationists, rangers and villagers as he patrols from the air and on the ground to discover the grim reality of the situation. Seizure records show that an alarming amount of illegal ivory is smuggled through Mombasa Port in Kenya on its way out of the continent. Hugh wants to know how and why. He joins the Kenya government’s sniffer dog unit as a passport to get inside the port’s heavily guarded gates to find out more. Hugh finds evidence to suggest that bribery and collusion allows ivory to slip through the port in consignments of tea. Hugh heads to Hong Kong, where carved ivory is popular as a work of art and sold openly in licensed shops. Here, as with elsewhere, the rules of the trade are riddled with confusion. Antique, or pre-convention ivory, is legal, but new fresh ivory is not. It is impossible, however, for an untrained eye to tell the difference. Hugh quizzes shop owners on the provenance of their stock, but quickly hits a wall. Teamed up with undercover experts from mainland China and rigged with secret cameras, he exposes how significant quantities of ivory from Europe are playing a part in fuelling the trade. Back in the UK, Hugh wants to find out how much our own legal ivory trade is part of the problem. Questioning whether all of our antique ivory is really what it claims to be, he sends 9 pieces to be radio carbon dated. The shocking results suggest the UK ivory market is in disarray, and figures obtained from Hong Kong show that our own dealers are fuelling the Asian trade. Hugh decides it’s time to challenge the UK Government on ivory policy – and remind them that they have twice pledged to ban the UK trade.

Hugh travels to South Africa, home to 70% of that other great iconic African species, the rhino. He learns that an estimated 25,000 rhino are left in Africa, and tragically they too are at the forefront of the poaching war. With six animals killed daily, their numbers are under even greater pressure than elephants. Hugh begins his journey at the anti-poaching head quarters of Kruger National Park. Last year, the team lost an estimated 800 rhino from the park in a battle to deal with 7,500 poaching incursions. The animals were not the only victims. In this complex ‘war’ a conservative estimate of 200 suspected poachers, several soldiers, two field rangers and a policeman have been killed. Outside the National Park, Hugh accompanies a group of farmers in a night raid of locals suspected of harbouring guns and rhino horn. He discovers that at the heart of the poaching problem in South Africa is a shocking poverty. He begins to understand why people are prepared to risk everything, including their lives, to kill rhino for their horn. Next, Hugh travels to The Hague where he joins a group of undercover investigators who are gathering evidence that incriminates a leading rhino horn trafficker in Vietnam. Given a code name, Little Wu, and online identity, Hugh helps to illicit shocking images of vast quantities of rhino horn that the trafficker has for sale. The team invite Hugh to join them in Vietnam on a mission to procure the critical evidence needed to confirm the seller’s illegal activities. Hugh arrives in Vietnam ahead of the investigators, and does some undercover work of his own. He wants to see how easy it is to buy rhino horn. Armed with secret cameras he is amazed at how quickly he can get to it. He also discovers that the extortionate price of rhino horn puts it out of reach of all but a wealthy elite. Although some believe it can cure cancer, it’s the status that owning and offering rhino horn confers that is driving the trade. Back on the trail of “Mr Big” the trafficker, Hugh and the undercover investigators encounter a serious problem: the film crew have been reported to local police who are now looking for them. Secret filming receives a prison sentence in Vietnam, and a heart-stopping exit from the country becomes critical. Back in the UK, Hugh is pursuing an interview with the Minister in charge of Britain’s ivory trade to get clarity on whether our Government will enact a promised ban on the UK ivory trade. He goes to Kenya to see what they are doing with their 105 tonne ivory stockpile. To take it out of any potential market, and show the world they are committed to ending the trade, in a spectacular display they burn it.