Pour une poignée d'ivoire (For a Fistful of Ivory) is an autobiographical book written by Jean-Claude Vignoli about his work hunting animal traffickers in Africa.[1] It was published by Éditions Favre in February 2023.[1]
The book explains how, as part of his work with the NGO EAGLE, he helped wipe out a mafia network in Ivory Coast in 2018,[2] 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.[3] 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[4] 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[5] for financial reasons: a kilo of rhinoceros horn, for example, is traded for $100,000.[6] In his opinion, the unbridled consumption of our societies is responsible for the disappearance of living things.[7]
