Yang Feng Glan - Queen of Ivory - arrested in Tanzania for alleged crimes

Yang Feng Glan

Yang Feng Glan, age 66, was arrested on September 28, 2015, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

She has been charged with smuggling more than 706 elephant tusks out of Africa and into China. These tusks are worth about $2.5 million U.S.

This means that 353 elephants were killed in order to provide this ivory.

Yang Feng Glan came to Africa in the 1970's as a translator. Over the years she became involved in numerous business ventures and became wealthy. She is the owner of a popular restaurant in Dar es Salaam.

The authorities in Tanzania believe that this woman has been involved in ivory smuggling for 15 years. This ivory was largely smuggled to China. It is thought that she financed poachers who were killing the elephants in protected areas.

Yang Feng Glan faces 20 to 30 years in prison which means that, if convicted, she would die behind bars. 

African elephants - before and after poaching

It is estimated by wildlife groups that 215 years ago in 1800 A.D., there were approximately 26,000,000 elephants in Africa. It is now estimated that there are 500,000 elephants alive in Africa in the year 2015.

It is believed that in 2012, 35,000 African elephants were killed by poachers for their ivory tusks.

The government of Tanzania has reported that they have lost 60 percent of their elephants in the past 5 years. They term this loss as catastrophic.

Yang Feng Glan is innocent unless proven guilty.

However, we put this question to the poachers and smugglers who are wiping out Africa's elephants: What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?

The love of money causes world-wide suffering of both human beings and of animals.

God save us from human greed. Amen.