Tuesday, February 17, 2015

THREATENED IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT


We are one step closer...

February 11th 2015, marked the one year anniversary of the Obama campaigns's announcement to combat the multibillion dollar indusry that is the illegal wildlife trade. Included in the strategy were plans to restrict the sale of ivory by closing loopholes that have caused the U.S. ivory trade to flourish.

But we need to do more


While this was a big step forward in protecting the African elephants, we need to implement an even stronger set of rules to help population that have decimated over the recent years. Loss of habitat, killing for sport, human-elephant conflict, and most significantly poaching for ivory are to blame for the tens of thousands of elephant deaths each year. Even though the Endangered Species Act granted the elephants "threatened" status, their population has declined by 60% since the initial listing. 

Now that scientists are saying that African elephant mortalities are surpassing births, advocates for wildlife are racing to protect the species from extinction before its too late. The time has come for the U.S. to increase protection for the African elephant, which is why the IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) along with the Humane Society International decided to file a legal petition on February 11th with the U.S. Department of Interior to elevate the African elephants status from "threatened" to "endangered.”


African elephants numbers are in free fall, and the U.S. is in the unique position of power to protect them. “Threatened” is an understatement. How much longer can we wait? We must act now before these animals are only found in pictures or museums.

For information on how you can help visit IFAW’s campaign page:
http://www.ifaw.org/united-states/our-work/protecting-elephants

To help aid on site defense against elephant poachers visit: http://savetheelephants.org/protection/elephant-crisis-fund

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