I have so much catching up to do! I had a big sort out of my inbox and have got a list of campaigns to share with you, it is hard to know where to start. So, I chose elephants!
When I was two I watched Dumbo for the first time and it was that (and Bambi) that awakened my animal obsession. I have always had a soft spot for elephants and one of the first campaigns I ever became involved with (at Primary School if I remember correctly) was against the ivory trade. I remember writing a poem about "nasty men taking their tusks!". It is painful to admit that the ivory trade is still booming, despite the partial ban.
The charity Care2 e-mailed me a few days back with some alarming news. Back in April, 30 elephants were killed in one week in Chad for their ivory tusks, despite the partial ban. In the last five years, Chad has lost 40% of its elephants and just 2,500 elephants are left in the entire country. Elephants from all around Africa are at risk because the demand for ivory is outweighing the effort to protect them.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES) was formed back in the Sixties and is an International agreement between Governments whose aim is to ensure International trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITIES sought to protect elephants, however, restrictions on the ivory trade have been weakened and elephant ivory has been exported to Countries such as Japan and China which reignited the market.
Please spare a minute to sign this petition telling our leaders to call for a FULL and PERMANENT ban on the International ivory trade. Then if you have another minute to spare please share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or via E-mail.
