Elephant populations are crashing as a vicious wave of ivory poaching sweeps the
continent. Half of the elephant families in Tanzania have been wiped out since
2009. But the Center for Biological Diversity is taking action now to stop the
slaughter -- petitioning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect elephants
as endangered. We are the only U.S. environmental group taking this crucial
step of petitioning to save both forest and savannah elephants in
Africa.
We will need your help though -- getting elephants protected will be a long and costly battle. Your contribution to the Center will help us save these intelligent, social animals.
Elephants desperately need full protection under the Endangered Species Act. Their current status as a "threatened" species clearly isn't doing enough: The United States is the second-largest market for ivory in the world.
Full protection under the Endangered Species Act will add a powerful arsenal of new tools to the fight to save these extraordinary animals. It will stop elephant parts from being sold in the United States and crack down on the practice of using the legal trade in old ivory as a cover for illegal trade in new ivory. Last month a senior Chinese wildlife official pledged to end the ivory trade if the United States does the same. This listing would do exactly that.
You can support the Center's work to protect African elephants with a contribution today.
We're specialists at using the Endangered Species Act to save wildlife -- we've gotten hundreds of animals and plants protected under the Act, which has a 90 percent success rate in saving species from extinction. By acting now, we can do our best to keep Africa's elephants from disappearing. We can't stand by while the brutal ivory trade wipes out 100 elephants every day.
Your gift to the Center will help secure lifesaving protection for Africa's elephants. They need your help now.
The United States government just released its long-awaited proposed regulations to stop the commercial ivory trade within the US.
The release of these regulations sends a clear message that the US will not tolerate the senseless slaughter of elephants and other wildlife—or the global crime syndicates that wildlife trafficking supports.
Take action to ensure the regulations fully protect elephants.
Global wildlife crime, estimated at $10 billion annually, is increasingly controlled by the same criminal networks that smuggle arms, drugs and humans.
And it's having grave consequences. Elephant populations are plummeting due to poaching—in fact, Tanzania recently announced a 60% decrease in its elephant population in the past five years.
We must act now to save elephants. Sign the petition today and tell the US Fish & Wildlife Service that it is the right decision to save wild elephants.
Stop Torturing Elephants for Entertainment.
We will need your help though -- getting elephants protected will be a long and costly battle. Your contribution to the Center will help us save these intelligent, social animals.
Elephants desperately need full protection under the Endangered Species Act. Their current status as a "threatened" species clearly isn't doing enough: The United States is the second-largest market for ivory in the world.
Full protection under the Endangered Species Act will add a powerful arsenal of new tools to the fight to save these extraordinary animals. It will stop elephant parts from being sold in the United States and crack down on the practice of using the legal trade in old ivory as a cover for illegal trade in new ivory. Last month a senior Chinese wildlife official pledged to end the ivory trade if the United States does the same. This listing would do exactly that.
You can support the Center's work to protect African elephants with a contribution today.
We're specialists at using the Endangered Species Act to save wildlife -- we've gotten hundreds of animals and plants protected under the Act, which has a 90 percent success rate in saving species from extinction. By acting now, we can do our best to keep Africa's elephants from disappearing. We can't stand by while the brutal ivory trade wipes out 100 elephants every day.
Your gift to the Center will help secure lifesaving protection for Africa's elephants. They need your help now.
The United States government just released its long-awaited proposed regulations to stop the commercial ivory trade within the US.
The release of these regulations sends a clear message that the US will not tolerate the senseless slaughter of elephants and other wildlife—or the global crime syndicates that wildlife trafficking supports.
Take action to ensure the regulations fully protect elephants.
| I'll Take Action Now ► |
And it's having grave consequences. Elephant populations are plummeting due to poaching—in fact, Tanzania recently announced a 60% decrease in its elephant population in the past five years.
We must act now to save elephants. Sign the petition today and tell the US Fish & Wildlife Service that it is the right decision to save wild elephants.
Raju's
Anniversary Celebration
 |
| He's come a long way in just one year... |
We've
been celebrating Raju's one year rescue anniversary this month, and having so
much fun! Raju enjoyed his very own cake (check out the video footage), received a giant
anniversary card, and even tore open a pinata filled with popcorn!
We're
also raising money for Raju's Rescue Fund, designed to help
other elephants in need, and you have until July 31st to make a donation and earn a great prize. Silver Raju
pendants, customized prayer flags, tote bags with Raju's image, and more are
available.
Stop Torturing Elephants for Entertainment.
Target: California Governor Jerry Brown
Goal: End the use of cruel torture devices and tactics against captive elephants.
Petition: Click Here!
Captive elephants could soon be free from torture and abuse by their captors, thanks to a proposal currently working its way through California’s capitol. These beautiful animals do not deserve to endure such horrific cruelty. Demand that this life-saving proposal be signed into law as soon as possible.
California state law currently disallows people who own elephants for circuses, zoos, and other institutions from abusing the majestic animals. Incredibly, such restrictions do not currently extend to the people who actually handle the elephants day-to-day. As a result, these people can deprive these animals of food, water, and sleep, electrocute them, beat them, and subject them to any other forms of abuse with impunity.
The proposed legislation being discussed by the state’s lawmakers would finally close this loophole by restricting not just the owners, but “anyone in direct contact with an elephant,” from abusing the animals. This would protect countless animals in California’s zoos and circuses from misery and harm.
Elephants are the largest land animals in the world and deserve to be treated with the utmost respect and dignity. Sign the petition below to demand that California Governor Jerry Brown sign this proposal into law as soon as possible so that these beautiful creatures can live their lives without such shameless cruelty from their human captors.
Dear Governor Brown,
I am writing you today regarding SB 716, a proposal currently working its way through the capitol that will with luck arrive on your desk in short order. This is a vital bill that will close loopholes in your current statutes and should be signed without hesitation.
As your current laws stand, the most majestic of all the planet’s animals—the elephant—can been electrocuted, beaten, starved, and otherwise abused by their zoo and circus handlers without consequence. Needless to say, this kind of abject cruelty cannot be allowed. It must be met with the full force of our criminal justice system.
SB 716 is designed do just that and protect these animals in your state from torture and harm. This bill, if you sign it into law, will finally make such abject violence committed by anyone against these animals illegal. The perpetrators will finally be able to be held accountable for their abuse and unethical treatment.
There is no excuse for your state not to protect these beautiful creatures. I demand that you sign SB 716 as soon as it arrives in your office so that these amazing animals can live their lives without torture and violence.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Christopher.Michel
Relocate the Virginia Zoo Elephants to a Sanctuary!
New standards regarding the keeping of elephants were recently passed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the accrediting organization for American wildlife institutions. Among their recommendations was that elephants be held in groups of three or more, as they are highly social creatures. Now, zoos around the country are scrambling to comply with the regulations by AZA’s 2016 deadline. One of them is the Virginia Zoo in the city of Norfolk, which, since the death of Monica the elephant in 2011, only has two pachyderms.
Because of these new regulations, VA Zoo has declared that it will be relocating its two female elephants instead of acquiring a third. We want 42 year-old Lisa and 47 year-old Cita to be retired and relocated together, to an animal sanctuary or refuge where they can finally get the quality of life they deserve.
I started this online petition to move the Virginia Zoo elephants to a sanctuary because they have served the public for so many years, and this is finally their chance to live like elephants truly should. In the wild, elephants walk up to 50 miles per day. The Virginia Zoo has never been able to provide that type of space for these two beautiful creatures.These girls deserve to stretch their legs and live out the rest of their lives in peace. A sanctuary ensures that they will be out of the public eye and free to just be elephants for the first time in their lives.
Help Lisa and Cita retire peacefully by signing this petition! Thank you for your help and for your concern regarding the well-being of these majestic creatures.
Thank You on Behalf of Elephants!
(Valid U.S. street address is required - P.O. Boxes cannot be used*)
Great News for African Elephants – Thanks to President Obama!
President Obama's recent visit to Kenya proved to be extremely beneficial for African elephants. We recently encouraged our supporters to contact President Obama to urge him to propose a rule to end the ivory trade in the United States and we thank you for taking action. It is a result of pressure from people like you and from conservationists around the world, along with his recent visit to Kenya, that we believe sealed the deal for him to take a firm stand against the continued slaughter of African elephants.
At a press conference in Kenya on Saturday, Obama said, "We're proposing a new rule that bans the sale of virtually all ivory across state lines."
Obama's decision couldn't be timelier as this majestic species faces imminent extinction without immediate and radical action. It has been estimated that less than 500,000 elephants roam Africa today and more than 50,000 are killed each year. That translates to one bloody and violent death every fifteen minutes.
Following China, the U.S. is the world’s second largest consumer of poached ivory products. In addition to protecting elephants, the new regulations will help to promote economic growth in African countries which rely on wildlife-based tourism. It will also assist in the fight against terrorist groups that fund their efforts with money from the illegal ivory trade.
The proposed changes, which will be finalized later this year after a public-comment period, would still allow Americans to sell ivory across state lines, but only if it meets the strict criteria of the antiques exemption listed in the Endangered Species Act. The act identifies an antique as an item that is 100 years or older, that is partly or entirely composed of a species listed under the act, and that has not been repaired or modified with any such species after Dec. 27, 1973. It also must have been imported through one of 13 specific antique ports within the United States. The proposed rule also contains new restrictions on the international trade.
"The United States is among the world's largest consumers of wildlife, both legal and illegal," said Daniel Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "By tightening domestic controls on trade in elephant ivory and allowing only very narrow exceptions, we will close existing avenues that are exploited by traffickers and address ivory trade that poses a threat to elephants in the wild."
1) First, please call the Obama Administration at 202-456-1111.
You can say, "I am concerned about elephants and I do not want them going extinct due to the ivory trade. Thank you for proposing a rule to end the ivory trade in the United States."
2) Then, send our letter at the bottom of this page.
3) Finally, stay informed and also tuned in to IDA's, regional, state-wide alerts: Read the press release by USFWS here and more news here.
In the upcoming weeks we will be preparing to send you regional alerts for you to take action with just one click! Please make sure that you have provided IDA with the state in which you reside so that we can send you the appropriate alerts.
Save the date to participate in the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos:
- President Barack Obama
(Valid U.S. street address is required - P.O. Boxes cannot be used*)
