From the announcement via State.gov:
The United States and Vietnam recognized that the illegal trade in and illegal consumption of wildlife and wildlife products are threatening the world’s irreplaceable biodiversity and adversely impacting communities and economies around the globe. Both countries acknowledged that wildlife trafficking is a transnational criminal enterprise that generates billions of dollars of illicit revenue annually, threatens national security, undermines the rule of law, and facilitates the spread of emerging infectious diseases. (Read the full statement here.)
International commercial trade in rhino horn is illegal, and rhino horn consumption is banned in Vietnam. But rhino horn consumption in this nation of nearly 90 million people has spiked in recent years. Surveys conducted by WildAid and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) shows 75 percent of those surveyed believe rhino horn has health benefits while 61 percent believe it can help cure diseases, including rheumatism (32 percent of respondents believe this) and cancer (38 percent). It’s also used as a hangover remedy among the elite. Despite these uses and purported benefits, rhino horn is primarily composed of keratin, the same protein found in human hair and fingernails.
In 2013, WildAid and AWF teamed up to launch the “Say No to Rhino Horn” campaign, a demand-reduction initiative, in partnership with the Vietnamese nonprofit CHANGE. The campaign has the support and cooperation of the Vietnamese government as well as some of the country’s leading CEO and media companies.
Our campaign activities have included:
- Working with Vietnamese actors and singers to bring the “Cuu te Giac” (“Save the Rhino”) message to the nation through social media campaigns and concerts. Vietnamese-American actress Maggie Q has also been a leading voice for rhinos in Vietnam.
- Bringing together CEOs and entrepreneurs who have made public pledges never to buy, sell or give as a gift any rhino horn. In September, WildAid and AWF hosted a dinner with Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, that was attended by the nation’s business elite.
- Producing and distributing powerful campaign ads that show the sickening truth of how rhinos in Africa are needlessly killed for their horns.
- Hosting medical conferences with leading doctors and cancer patients to debunk myths of rhino horn’s potency. You can watch poignant testimony from a cancer patient on this issue from a WildAid/AWF conference in the video below.
As you know by now, all of the performing elephants for Ringling Bros. have been officially retired and are residing at their Center for Elephant Conservation (CEC). Thankfully, many petitions have cropped up, including this one, since that retirement, to send these retired animals to REAL sanctuaries. The best choices right now are PAWS in California and The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. I am sure there are others just as good.
We are very close to 200,000 signatures. I invite you to keep sharing this petition with your family and friends. I've supported this petition financially, as well, which should bring up the number of supporters very soon.
There have been no news coming from Ringling Bros. on how the elephants are doing. We can only pray that they are well, but with our persistence, we'll know they're destined for true freedom, and that means sticking by this cause.
I know it feels like we're moving at a snails pace, and that may be our course for some time. I will keep you posted as I become aware of any new information. I have included a pretty neat article written about the statistics of animals, specifically elephants, in zoos and circuses. If this speaks to you, and I hope it does, please feel free to share it, as well.
The more people know about the truth behind the scenes, the better off all abused animals will be.
I thank you for your support from the bottom of my heart.
Meet Nosy, and 64 other elephants who still perform in circuses
http://www.vox.com
Target: Geeta Seshamani, Vice President of Wildlife SOS
Goal: Thank rescuers for going above and beyond to save abused elephant.
Lakhi, a 61-year-old elephant, was found begging on the streets in India. It is unknown how long she suffered from abuse and neglect, but it is evident that Lakhi was beaten often with what rescuers believe to be a bullhook. Thankfully, this elephant’s life has turned around for the better.
Lahki was discovered with cracked feet, open wounds, countless scars and was severely malnourished. The years of neglect even led to blindness. Thankfully, Lahki was rescued just in time by Wildlife SOS.
Wildlife SOS showed Lahki a world full of love, comfort and happiness. She now roams a sanctuary where she is surrounded by elephant friends. Sign this petition and thank Wildlife SOS for not giving up on Lakhi and giving her the life she deserves.
Dear Ms. Seshamani,
I recently heard about the incredible rescue of Lahki the elephant. As much as it saddens me to hear about the abuse and neglect she faced in her past life, it brings me incredible joy to know there are organizations and people like yours that go above and beyond to rescue these innocent, gentle creatures.
Seeing Lahki roam the sanctuary, splash in the water and play with her friends gives me hope for all the other animals out there facing difficult circumstances at this moment. I wanted to thank you, your organization, and the incredible rescuers for doing everything that you could to help Lahki and the countless other animals you have saved. Your work makes this world a better place for so many living beings.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Wildlife SOS
Do Not Allow Sale of Ivory Stockpiles. 
Target: John E. Scanlon, Secretary General of CITES
Goal: Don’t fuel elephant poaching by allowing stockpiles of ivory to be sold legally.
Countries will be allowed to sell massive stockpiles of ivory collected from elephants that died of natural causes if a proposal by Zimbabwe and Namibia is accepted. Supporters of the sale say that it is supposed to undermine illegal poaching by flooding the ivory market with cheap, legal ivory. However, previous sales of legal ivory stockpiles have been linked to increases in the poaching of elephants.
While the trade of ivory has been illegal since 1989, recently buyers in China and Japan were allowed to buy 107 tonnes of ivory from four African nations for $15 million. According to researchers at UC Berkeley and Princeton, In the years that followed there was a permanent and significant increase in the number of elephants killed illegally across broad swathes of the world. Last year, an estimated 20,000 African elephants were killed illegally. That is greater than the number that were born. They cannot survive current levels of poaching, much less an increase.
The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is the organization that will determine the legality of the proposed sale. Without scrutiny and pressure to do otherwise, it may allow Zimbabwe and Namibia to sell their stockpiles, endangering an entire species. Demand that CITES Secretary General John Scanlon take a stand against the legal sale of ivory.
Dear Secretary General Scanlon,
I was disturbed to hear of proposals by the governments of Namibia and Zimbabwe that would allow them to sell stockpiles of ivory. It has been shown that previous sales have directly contributed to a geographically distributed, sustained, and significant increase in the poaching of African elephants. I urge you to do everything in your power to ensure that their proposals are rejected by CITES.
Last year, 20,000 African elephants were killed illegally, a number higher than estimated births. It is clear that poaching is threatening African elephants with extinction. Any move that would increase the number of elephants killed and therefore both guarantee and hasten their extinction should not be under consideration. I urge you as secretary general of CITES to make it clear that no sale of ivory can be good for the continued survival of elephants.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Vaughan Leiberum
What Elephant Who Lived With Bullet Lodged in His Head Teaches Us About the Ivory Trade. In a truly miraculous turn of events, a wild elephant survived being shot in the head. The attack was probably carried out by poachers intending to kill the elephant for his ivory. Had the shot been fired just five centimeters lower, the bullet would have entered the elephant’s brain and killed him.
Nicknamed Pretty Boy, the 25-year-old male elephant is believed to have been living with the bullet lodged in his head for up to six weeks. Despite this, he was relaxed and gentle while examined and treated by veterinarians from the Animal and Wildlife Area Research and Rehabilitation Trust (AWARE), a conservation organization in Zimbabwe.
One of the vets who cared for Pretty Boy, Dr. Lisa Marabini ventures that he was shot outside Mana Pools National Park, and entered the park to seek refuge. The elephant also had a gunshot wound on his shoulder. “We suspect he was shot in the head first and turned to flee, and the poacher put a bullet in his side,” explains Dr. Marabini.
“It usually takes more time to find the animal than it does to treat it,” details the AWARE Trust in a Facebook post, but this wasn’t the case for Pretty Boy who came right up to the team’s car and “made himself available for examination within half an hour.” Despite the harm done to him by humans, Pretty Boy was reportedly remarkably gentle towards the veterinarians who treated him.
While Dr. Marabini states she doesn’t usually feel fully comfortable coming quite so close to a wild elephant, Pretty Boy was extremely calm and “there were no aggressive vibes coming from him whatsoever.” The massive animal “literally emanated serenity,” according to her and it seemed “he knew we were there with the intention of helping him,” she adds.
The team sedated Pretty Boy, took an X-ray of his skull and thoroughly cleaned the wound, removing pus and pieces of infected bone. He was given long-lasting antibiotics and parasiticides. The animal will have to be monitored by wildlife tour operators and may require further treatment.
Unfortunately, Mana Pools is an area frequently targeted by poachers who kill elephants to steal their ivory tusks and sell them at high prices. This problem runs rampant all across Africa. Most aren’t as lucky as Pretty Boy and thousands of elephants are killed for their tusks each year.
In fact, studies show that one African elephant is killed for ivory every fifteen minutes, that’s close to 100 elephants being slaughtered for this evil trade each day. Tragically, elephant numbers in Africa have been plummeting since the 1970s, slashed by 60 percent between then and now. This may lead to the extinction of this grand and significant species by 2020 according to scientists as elephants are being killed faster than they are being born.
Pretty Boy’s story proves how resilient, resourceful and intelligent elephants are. Yet, we continue to allow thousands of these majestic animals to be gunned down each year, their tusks ripped out of their heads so that a clueless consumer on the other side of the globe can purchase an ivory statuette.
If the illegal wildlife trade wasn’t bad enough, this impressive species faces a wealth of other threats from the human population. Worldwide, elephants are confined in zoos, brutally forced to perform tricks at the circus and ridden around to exhaustion as a tourist attraction. Elephants are strong enough to crush us with their trunks alone, but more often than not, they refrain from using their physical superiority to do us harm. Why, then, can’t we extend them the same privilege?
How You Can Help ElephantsWhile most of us know the evils of ivory and of the wildlife trade, it is important to share that awareness for the benefit of consumers who may not yet be clued in about the extent wild animals suffer for this cruel trade. Moreover, there are countless easy steps to take to ensure we never cause elephants harm and to speak up for these magnificent creatures.
Firstly, never patronize a zoo, circus, tourist attraction offering elephant rides or any other facility that keeps wild animals captive for human entertainment and encourage family and friends to do the same. Additionally, you can speak up against poaching and wildlife trafficking by signing petitions against the bloody ivory trade on Rainforest Rescue, Avaaz, and SumofUs for instance. You can also check out these 10 Simple Ways to Stop Wildlife Poaching to help curb the illegal wildlife trade as a whole.
While Pretty Boy escaped death thanks to an auspicious twist of fate, countless other individual elephants continue to suffer at the hands of humans. These include Nosey, Kavaan, Hanako, Happy, Bubbles, Anna Louise, Laura, Lucky, Billy, and several others.
Finally, you can support organizations who are fighting for elephants, such as the WWF, the Born Free Foundation and IFAW, as well as the AWARE Trust who treated and saved Pretty Boy. All images from the AWARE Trust/Facebook
4 Rescued Circus Elephants Ordered to Return to Abusive Life in the Big Top.
Elephants are some of the most incredible animals to exist on Earth. They are highly intelligent, emotional, family-oriented, and despite their huge size, graceful! Unfortunately, their beautiful presence is so awe-inspiring that they are frequently exploited and used in circuses. After all, just watching elephants walk is amazing, so what could be more remarkable than watching one perform tricks!
However, the reality of the matter is that elephants are not born inherently knowing how to dance or spin hoops on their trunks. They have to be taught these tricks, and their training is anything but pleasant. To obey commands, elephants must be essentially beaten into submission so that they eventually fear their circus “masters” and lose their will to fight back. To do this, trainers use painful bull hooks to make sure elephants don’t act out. Once they are completely submissive, elephants are subjected to practice and perform for hours on end, and when they’re not performing they’re simply chained up like property.
Life in a circus is no life for an elephant, to say the least.
Luckily, there are people who care about this issue and work hard to free these animals from their cruel captivity. Earlier this year, for instance, Wildlife SOS successfully rescued four elephants in India from the inhumane conditions they were being subjected to. The four elephants were part of a 60+ group of circus elephants Wildlife SOS was aiming to rescue.
Shockingly enough, after just a few months of peace at a sanctuary, the court has decided to overturn the decision meaning these elephants will actually be forced to return to the circus! That’s right, after years and years of abuse and just a snippet of actual peace and relaxation, these animals will be returning to a horrible life of cruelty and pain. That is unless the people forcing this decision are stopped!
After hearing about this horrific overturning of the original court decision, Wildlife SOS instantly created a petition to save these poor creatures. Considering the ages of these elephants (25, 35, 41, and 52) and the physical and mental ailments they now face due to the trauma they have been put through, Wildlife SOS is certain that a return to the circus will be absolutely devastating for these animals.
Elephant Veterinarian Dr. Yaduraj Khadpekar said, “The blind and injured elephants have had a small taste of freedom. All the efforts in providing them medical care and treatment will be lost if they are returned to the circus.”
We completely agree. These elephants are not fit to return to the taxing life in a circus (not they ever were fit to do so). After everything these elephants have put up with, the least we could do is provide them with medical care and a bit of compassion. Despite what circus owners would like you to believe, these animals are not ours to own and exploit for entertainment. They are creatures with their own personalities and feelings and deserve to live in peace.
If you agree, consider signing Wildlife SOS’ petition to free these precious animals! All Image Source: Wildlife SOS
Billy Needs You! Please continue to sign and share.
Here is a recent photo of Billy the Elephant, taken on June 21, 2016, in over 100 degree heat. Please let the Los Angeles Zoo Commission and the Los Angeles City Council know we will not stand by any longer while the animals at the zoo suffer. Please sign, share, and if possible, promote this petition. Oh behalf of animals in captivity everywhere, thank you!
Elephant Who Can Barely Walk Forced To Give Rides Over And Over. Sometimes she's called Bubbles. Other times she's called Tiny or Peanut or Dumbo. But she's known mostly as Nosey, and she's quite possibly the saddest circus elephant in America.
Hugo Tommy Liebel of the Liebel Family Circus, also known as the Great American Family Circus (which has racked up many animal welfare violations over the years, while Liebel denies wrongdoing), has owned Nosey since 1988. Liebel might change her name, but she's always the same sick, exhausted 34-year-old elephant, one of the last traveling circus elephants in the U.S. (Even Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus decided to give up its elephant act.)
Karen Ess, of the activist group Action for Nosey Now, worries that nothing is changing for her anytime soon.
"After seeing Nosey in person several times early in the year, the rate at which her condition has worsened is shocking," Ess told The Dodo.
SET NOSEY FREE!!!! (Sanctuary)
Please sign this petition: https://www.facebook.com/mercy888/posts/10205892816138685
Action for Nosey: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=694519100680386&id=549814465150851
"For at least the last couple of engagements, Nosey has been exhibited at no charge to the venue host, leaving more, if not most, of the responsibility to generate revenues on Nosey's back — literally," Ess said.
This means that Nosey has to give enough painful rides to support the business and travel expenses involved in carting her from town to town, according to Ess.
At a recent gig at a strawberry festival in Lagro, Indiana, a Nosey advocate named Keri Fields shot some video of Nosey — and glimpses of Nosey's plight are harder and harder to come by. Nosey's travels this year began in Kissimmee, Florida, at a petting zoo behind the Gator Motel.
"Since Kissimmee in April, Nosey has been kept behind the shrouds of tents or makeshift tarp walls for exhibitions," Ess said. "Photography is strictly controlled. Why, if there is nothing to hide, would anyone go to such great lengths to keep Nosey from public view?"
In the latest video, Nosey's left rear leg alternates between dragging and a rigid, awkward sideways swing, Ess observed. "It doesn't take a vet to recognize how contorted Nosey's gait has become," she said.
Nosey was taken from her mother in the wild at age 2. YOUTUBE/KERI FIELDS
Taken from her mother in the wild at just 2 years old, and shipped from Africa to the U.S. in the early 1980s, Nosey has been used by people for profit ever since. (Her family was likely killed during her kidnapping.) Even though Nosey, like many performing elephants, suffers from a kind of arthritis called degenerative joint disease, not to mention many other health problems, Nosey's been granted no rest from her performances. She also hasn't met another elephant in three decades.
But there are many people out there who have been trying to help Nosey. The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee offered to take in the downtrodden elephant, but Liebel has refused to give her up.
Despite countless petitions and efforts to shed light on Nosey's suffering, the USDA (which regulates captive animals like Nosey) has failed over and over to rescue the exhausted elephant. Earlier this year, the USDA renewed (yet again) Liebel's license for owning Nosey.
So, this traveling season — the warm summer months when towns hold festivals and when Liebel can cart Nosey from town to town in a truck, making profits off of her — is shaping up to be like all the others.
"Quite frankly, I don't know how Nosey will be able to get through a full season considering the clearly painful condition she is enduring," Ess said. Urge Congress to take action for Nosey now.
Stop the cruel use of animals in your circus. Anna Louise the elephant dances for the crowds at Kelly Miller Circus. But her life behind the scenes is far less elegant. Circus animals are separated from their families at a young age, and trained rigorously to perform these tricks which are, in fact, physically uncomfortable and unnatural to elephants -- all in the name of entertainment.
Kelly Miller is one of the oldest circuses in the U.S., and it has an animal welfare rap sheet to match, with over 20 years’ worth of citations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for failure to meet minimum federal standards for the care of their circus animals. In 2013, an observer reported seeing an elephant beaten so hard with a bullhook that she could be heard screaming. I am okay with good, wholesome entertainment, but not when it involves cruelty.
Please sign my petition asking Kelly Miller Circus to discontinue its use of animals in its shows.
Kelly Miller regularly uses elephants, tigers, zebras, and camels in its acts. These are some of the most majestic, intelligent animals on earth, yet their true nature is prodded out of them in the interest of obedience and repetition. Their “performances” teach audiences nothing about normal animal behavior. So we have to ask ourselves -- why, in this age of concern for animal welfare and wild animal protection, are we forcing these once-wild creatures to endure such misery?
The next time you’re at a circus, look for the whips, collars, and prods being used to keep these poor animals in line. You can’t help but be reminded that the animals are not performing these tricks of their own free will.
The country is finally waking up to this cruelty. On March 5, 2015, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced it will phase out its use of elephants. This is a huge victory for the animals, and it’s time for other circuses to do them one better and end their use of all animals
Please join me in asking Kelly Miller Circus to stop its cruel use of animals in its shows. This petition will be delivered to: Kelly Miller Circus
Please sign my petition asking Kelly Miller Circus to discontinue its use of animals in its shows.
Kelly Miller regularly uses elephants, tigers, zebras, and camels in its acts. These are some of the most majestic, intelligent animals on earth, yet their true nature is prodded out of them in the interest of obedience and repetition. Their “performances” teach audiences nothing about normal animal behavior. So we have to ask ourselves -- why, in this age of concern for animal welfare and wild animal protection, are we forcing these once-wild creatures to endure such misery?
The next time you’re at a circus, look for the whips, collars, and prods being used to keep these poor animals in line. You can’t help but be reminded that the animals are not performing these tricks of their own free will.
The country is finally waking up to this cruelty. On March 5, 2015, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced it will phase out its use of elephants. This is a huge victory for the animals, and it’s time for other circuses to do them one better and end their use of all animals
Please join me in asking Kelly Miller Circus to stop its cruel use of animals in its shows. This petition will be delivered to: Kelly Miller Circus
Last week, South Sudanese authorities seized 25 crates full of smuggled ivory at the Juba International Airport.[1]
2,829 pounds of ivory. That equates to 26 elephants brutally killed.
Belatedly, pictures from the protest! Huge thanks to San Antonio Vegetable Eaters - SAVE for the pictures and for handling the protest this month.
July's event is up! https://www.facebook.com/events/1738596736405796/
Are Your Ready to Be
Inspired?
Join Us in Los Angeles, CA on July 7-10, 2016. In Defense of Animals is once again a proud sponsor of the Animal Rights National Conference, and we strongly encourage you to join us at the world's largest and longest-running animal rights gathering. All points of view are welcome for discussion when it comes to achieving animal liberation, and we love open dialog. Embracing and discussing diverse tactics openly and without fear of criticism encourages unique approaches to the massive problem of domination over animals.
In Defense of Animals is holding panel on activist support, "When Activists Need Support," featuring our Sustainable Activism Campaign Director Lisa Levinson, Animal Activist Mentor Line Counselor Lorrin Maughan, Center for Effective Vegan Advocacy co-founder Tobias Leenaert, Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Senior Pro Bono Manager Tom Linney, and A Well-Fed World founder Dawn Moncrief. IDA President Dr. Marilyn Kroplick has been invited to share her innovative tactics and vision alongside other animal rights leaders on how to win for animals in Asia, and working for our movement. Our Elephant and Cetacean Scientist Dr. Toni Frohoff will present an inspiring talk on animals in captivity.
We look forward to seeing you there!
What: Animal Rights Conference
When: Thursday, July 7 - Sunday, July 10, 2016
Where: Sheraton Gateway Hotel located at 6101 West Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045
Free Lucky - The Loneliest Elephant in Texas
IDA's #6 Worst Zoo for Elephants: San Antonio Zoo
Lucky is a solitary Asian elephant held captive at the San Antonio Zoo. The only luck she has is having a strong advocacy group and her own legal defense team trying to win the case for her freedom.
Since her companion died in 2013, Lucky has been all alone. Stubborn San Antonio Zoo refuses to release her to a sanctuary, despite its flagrant violation of the Endangered Species Act by keeping this socially complex animal in a life of solitary confinement with no other companions of her own kind. Click here to take action.
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[1] WMUR. Smuggled ivory haul seized in S. Sudan. June 17, 2016.
