''Pour une poignée d'ivoire'' (''For a Fistful of Ivory'') is an autobiographical book written by

Jean-Claude Vignoli Jean-Claude Vignoli is an activist, journalist and writer, born in Geneva, Switzerland. He is the co-founder of UPR Info, a Geneva-based human rights NGO. UPR Info is the first NGO working on the Universal Periodic Review process. He is a jou ...

about his work hunting animal traffickers in Africa. It was published by Éditions Favre in February 2023. The book explains how, as part of his work with the NGO

EAGLE Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

, he helped wipe out a mafia network in

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

in 2018, including the sentencing of a notorious Vietnamese trafficker to 1.5 years in prison. The ivory was hidden in hollow boards and sent by boat to the European and Asian markets. Vignoli describes the physical dangers he faced while tracking down the traffickers, as well as the psychological ones, since he had to think and act like a criminal in order to stop them. The book aims to raise awareness of the loss of African megafauna, such as elephants, which are disappearing from the continent for financial reasons: a kilo of rhinoceros horn, for example, is traded for $100,000. In his opinion, the unbridled consumption of our societies is responsible for the disappearance of living things.

References

{{reflist 2022 books French books Books about elephants Books about Africa