Tackling Africa’s Wildlife Crimes From The Religious Front
The Book of Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”
Later, in Genesis 6, when God was about to destroy the earth with a flood, He instructed Noah to take a male and female of every kind of animal into the ark so they too could be saved — testimony to His desire for the continued existence of His creation.
Yet today, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, more than 1,500 animal species are on the verge of extinction, with nearly 900 others having already disappeared in the past five centuries alone — evidence that humanity’s rulership over other creatures is having disastrous results.
While humans drive this extinction crisis through habitat destruction, pollution and global warming, it is their unchecked consumption that poses the greatest threat to wildlife. This consumption is so excessive that experts say humanity has wiped out 60% of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles since 1970. Conservation efforts have largely focused on ending the killing of animals for food, recreation and traditional medicine, but attention is now turning to religious demand for wildlife products—an often overlooked but significant driver of extinction.
With 80% of the world’s eight billion people identifying with a religion, the use of wildlife products for religious purposes — even by a minority — contributes significantly to the demand for illegally sourced wildlife items. Some religious leaders are calling for an end to this practice.
Religious demand for wildlife products can be just as relentless as demand for items used in traditional medicine, status symbols or investments. From African elephant ivory carved into crucifixes for Catholics to Islamic prayer beads and Coptic crosses to amulets and carvings for Buddhists and Taoists in Thailand to rhino horn handles for ceremonial daggers coveted by Muslim men, the list is long.
These religious demands place pressure on already dwindling wildlife populations, including elephants, rhinos and leopards, which are on the brink of extinction. Ivory is sourced from the horns or tusks of animals such as elephants, rhinos and deer, as well as from the shells of turtles.
‘Frozen in amber’
A 2012 National Geographic investigation revealed the extent to which religious purposes — primarily in Catholicism and Buddhism — drive ivory demand. The investigation, which explored the demand side of the illegal ivory trade, concluded that religion is a major driver of ivory consumption.
“Although the world has found substitutes for every one of ivory’s practical uses — billiard balls, piano keys, brush handles — its religious use is frozen in amber, and its role as a political symbol persists,” wrote Bryan Christy, the lead correspondent for the project.
The investigation found that, for example, in the Philippines, Catholics often possess religious figures carved from ivory as expressions of devotion to saints.
In a world with nearly three billion Christians, two billion Muslims, 1.2 billion Hindus, 500 million Buddhists and millions more of other faith traditions, the use of wildlife products — even by a small portion of believers — can lead to enormous demand and devastating consequences for endangered species.
Recent continent-wide research in Africa revealed that the cultural and religious use of carnivore skins and body parts is more widespread than previously believed, occurring in nearly 90 percent of African countries. These practices significantly contribute to wildlife poaching.
For example, in South Africa, members of the African Congregational Church — over one million strong — wear leopard skin hats as part of their ceremonial dress. The Nazareth Baptist Church eBuhleni, with more than 20,000 members, also incorporates leopard skin into its regalia, further endangering the African leopard.
A successful substitution initiative
In 2013, Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization, launched the “Furs For Life” program to reduce wild cat poaching in southern Africa by replacing authentic furs with synthetic alternatives in ceremonial clothing. The initiative aims to honor African religious and cultural traditions while promoting conservation.
Tristan Dickerson, Panthera’s “Furs For Life” program coordinator, told Religion Unplugged that the program has helped save about 8,000 wild cats in the region since its inception.
“The concept is to reduce the demand for wild cat furs while providing an alternative by way of these Heritage Furs. These are high-quality synthetic fur alternatives used to replace the use of authentic,” Dickerson said. “For example, we are working with the Shembe Church in South Africa, whose members wear leopard skin attire—shoulder garments, armbands, headbands, waistbands and anklebands. We have now created a Heritage Fur version for them. We have distributed 19,500 Heritage Fur hats, resulting in a 50 percent reduction in the use of authentic furs.”
He added that they are also working with the African Congregational Church and have successfully promoted the use of synthetic fur hats in place of real leopard fur.
Religious voices against wildlife products
Dr. Charles Odira, a Kenyan Catholic priest and conservationist, has been at the forefront of efforts to stop the use of wildlife products for religious purposes. He told Religion Unplugged that such practices fuel demand and contribute to species loss.
“About the use of wildlife products for religious artefacts, it is advisable that alternative materials could be used in place of the products of the endangered animals,” Odira said. “To use business language, when the demand is high, then the production is higher and the loss of the said species also goes high. Religious leaders can make resolute declarations publicly and implement them through their religious spaces and structures.”
He has advocated for an interfaith approach, since the issue cuts across religious lines.
“It is more effective if an interreligious approach is adopted since the creation doctrine seems to be common to almost all major religions of the world,” Odira added.
One such initiative was undertaken by the now-defunct Alliance of Religions and Conservation through its “Many Heavens, One Earth, Our Continent” celebration, which brought together Christian, Muslim and Hindu groups in Nairobi to promote collaborative conservation efforts.
In the Philippines, Archbishop Socrates Villegas, a leading Catholic figure, has spearheaded a campaign urging clergy to reject gifts made of ivory and to stop blessing ivory religious icons. He emphasizes that continued demand for ivory supports poaching, which violates Church teachings on respect for animals.
While Vatican City is not a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which enforced a global ivory ban in 1989, the late Pope Francis addressed the issue in his environmental encyclical. He warned against the “unprecedented destruction of ecosystems” by a world that treats nature as a commodity to be exploited.
“No matter the beauty of a work of art, it cannot justify the slaughter of wildlife, the use of endangered organic forms and lending a seal of approval to the threat posed to biodiversity by poachers and traffickers,” Francis said.
Cyril Zenda is a journalist based in Harare, Zimbabwe.