“Immigration charges. Arms charges. Money laundering charges. Movement of goods-over-borders charges. And they can confiscate bank accounts, houses, aircraft. This is where it really becomes punitive.”

He gave the example of the owner of a helicopter letting someone he does not trust rent the helicopter. The people may seem a suspicious, but they will pay in cash. But Mr. Bergin said if you deal with them, your helicopter might not be coming back

Carter Roberts, president of the World Wildlife Fund, says stopping the demand for ivory is also necessary.

“And that means making people in places like China and Thailand and even the United States, aware of what it means to buy an ivory product, where it came from and what the consequences are. We’ve seen people's minds change about diamonds, about fur, and I believe that we can change the way people look at these products too.”

Jane Goodall is a famous British anthropologist best known for her pioneering field work with chimpanzees. But she has also spent time observing elephants in the wild. She said compassion – sympathy - not just policy, is also extremely important.

“If you once watch young elephants playing, splashing each other having fun in the water, then you realize that like so many other creatures, they have emotions similar to ours. Then you realize it’s not just that we face extinction of a species. It’s that this is causing unbearable suffering to some very amazing animals with whom we share, or should be sharing, this planet.”