Top ivory investigator murdered in Kenya

A well-known American ivory-trade investigator, who pioneered efforts to combat elephant and rhino poaching, has been killed in his home in Nairobi, prompting an outpouring of shock and revulsion across the conservation world.

Esmond Bradley Martin, 75, died after being stabbed in his house in the Nairobi suburb of Langata on Sunday. His wife, Chryssee Martin, found his body. Bradley Martin had led global investigations into illegal wildlife trading since the 1970s and was a charismatic and familiar sight at conservation conferences.

Initial reports suggest that police believe the attack was part of a botched burglary. But there are also concerns that the murder may have been related to Bradley Martin’s work.

Elephant and rhino numbers have plummeted catastrophically on the African continent in the last 50 years as a result of the illegal trade in ivory and rhino horn.

In east Africa, elephant numbers have almost halved, while in some countries – Tanzania, for example – the fall has been as high as 60% over five years. Demand for rhinoceros horn has seen rhinos similarly affected, with a 9,000% rise in poaching in South Africa from 2007 to 2014. But ivory and rhino horn are hugely profitable and are an important revenue source for traffickers, although the banning of ivory sales in China last year is believed to have brought ivory prices down.

Bradley Martin, a geographer by training, played a crucial part in bringing this international black market to global attention. He began documenting the illegal trade in wildlife in the 1970s, looking in detail at the movement of elephant ivory and rhino horn among other substances.

Source: theguardian