Elephant in the Room, Seven (7) Elephant Deaths in US Zoos this year, National Geographic’s Special Investigations Unit, How Japan is Fueling the Slaughter of Elephants, Lilly, Holly, Oregon Zoo, Happy, Bronx Zoo, Packy, Elephant Travel Mart 2018 & "Nosey's Law" is a Massive Success!
We have an emergency. An elephant we're calling Holly needs our help. She's a senior elephant and she's blind, but she is still being forced to beg on city streets. We can't yet reveal her identity or her location for fear she'll disappear.
This is urgent! We need to bring Holly to safety and get her medical attention at our Elephant Conservation and Care Center.
SEVEN (7)!
First there was Gunda in Tulsa... then Kenzi in St. Louis... Punga at Reid Park in Tucson... Rolinda at the Caldwell Zoo in Tyer, Texas... Sunda in Topeka... Maxine at the Bronx Zoo ... and now Lily in Portland... all gone way too soon.
Please help us continue to fight on behalf of one of Earth's largest and most vulnerable animals.
When will we awaken to the realization that
elephants are not suited for captivity? When will we realize that confining
these complex, intelligent, highly social animals in cramped isolation is
nothing short of torture?When will it stop? When will the madness end?
Zoos package and sell their cruelty to the public cleverly disguised as conservation. They want you to believe them when they say that Lily's death was tragic and unavoidable; the result of a deadly viral infection.
Is it more than just coincidence that young Kenzi in St. Louis also died at the age of 6 from the same viral infection that took Lily? Something must be done!
In their natural environment, elephants can live up to 70 years. Of those who have died this year alone, their average age was just 35!
Enough is ENOUGH!
Support our efforts on behalf elephants held captive in zoos and circuses.
My team of dedicated In Defense of Animals elephant campaigners and I are hard at work every day to end the plight of elephants held captive in zoos and circuses. We're slugging away on the front lines of this battle with the full weight of our supporters behind us.
Our advocacy efforts include the annual publication of the highly esteemed 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants list which names and shames the worst offenders and places and increases the pressure on them to retire their captive elephants to accredited sanctuaries.
At In Defense of Animals, we support true conservation efforts to keep these amazing creatures in their natural habitats. Through donor-funded research, investigation, direct action, political change, and public education, we are leading the charge to save one of our planet's most unique and socially complex animals.
Do you remember Packy? Portland Zoo has
made our annual list of the 10 Worst Zoos for Elephants three years in a row!
Last year, the Portland Zoo needlessly "euthanized" Packy, another elephant
trapped in the conservation con that all zoos want you to believe. Dead and
dying elephants are piling up across the country and we need to act now! Be sure
to check back with us in the new year to see who made our worst zoos list for
2018...
The event, taking place at Khum Kan Toke, Chiang Mai, is conceived by the founder of ‘Save Elephant Foundation’, Sangduen Chailert (Lek), who works tirelessly for the wellbeing of Thailand’s elephants.
Elephant tourism has long been associated with Thailand by travelers from around the globe and helps to attract millions of visitors to the country each year. However, there has been a growing trend away from traditional forms of elephant tourism (such as elephant riding and circus shows) towards ethical elephant tours offering programs that are sustainable and make the well-being of elephants a priority.
Ecotourism values promoting modes of travel with minimal impact on the environment are becoming more widespread, particularly among young people. A growing concern for the environment and for the welfare of animals is changing the landscape of tourism across many tourist destinations throughout the world – a positive change that presents significant opportunities.
A key goal of Elephant Travel Mart 2018 is to provide a venue to bring people together to discuss how the travel industry can continue to adapt to respond to this trend and better meet the shifting demands of travelers.
Lek Chailert suggests that, “If ethical tour operators using environmentally sound practices and tour agencies work together in response to the demand for sustainable ecotourism in Thailand, a mutually beneficial relationship can be achieved that will create widespread benefits for the elephants, the environment, small communities, and the Thai economy.”
The event will begin with a thank you address to the audience by Lek, followed by an opening ceremony, including a performance by the Chiang Mai College of Dramatic Arts. Elephant tour operators and travel agencies will then meet to discuss potential opportunities for working together.
At the event, there will be 30 booths representing the ‘Saddle Off’ projects promoted by Asian Elephant Projects. Each booth will provide details about their project and hand out brochures and souvenirs to visitors. There will also be lucky draw prizes offering free gift vouchers to visit the various ‘Saddle Off’ projects throughout Chiang Mai province.
In the evening, dinner will be served and entertainment provided by various Thai stars including Rose Sirinthip, Baitoey R-SIAM, King The Star, and Bow Benjasiri. The winners of the lucky prize draw will then be announced. The event will end with a closing address by Prof. Prayat Vorapreecha, Honorary Counselor of Save Elephant Foundation.
It is hoped that this event will provide an important opportunity to exchange and develop ideas as well as build relationships between members of the travel industry in order to take full advantage of the growing popularity of ecotourism.
“The success of this event holds the potential to positively impact the welfare of elephants in Thailand, protect and improve the environment, and provide support to local communities,” concludes Ms. Chailert. For more information visit saveelephant.org, asianelephantprojects.com.
"Nosey's Law" is a Massive Success!
"I am proud to sign a law that will ensure that New Jersey will not allow wild and exotic animals to be exploited and cruelly treated within our state.
Nosey’s Law is named in honor of Nosey, an exploited circus elephant who has since been rescued.
Nosey’s Law would not have been possible without the years of hard work and advocacy by Senator Raymond J. Lesniak.
It is an incredible honor and it is now the law of the land!" via Governor Phil Murphy
Today we update Nosey's petition with fantastic news! "Nosey's Law", which bans the use of wild animals in circuses and other traveling shows in the state of New Jersey, was signed by Governor Phil Murphy. New Jersey is the first to pass a law of this magnitude in the United States! No longer will elephants, tigers, lions, and bears be subjected to the pain and suffering of the circus within the state of New Jersey.
We are also pleased to share that Nosey continues to remain at The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. While the court battles over her do continue, she has had more than a year to enjoy a life that involves NO traveling, NO bullhooks, and NO stupid, painful tricks. We remain hopeful that the courts will ultimately do the right thing and determine that Nosey should stay in sanctuary for the remainder of her life.
Within the past year, we've also seen the closing of a small circus, an increase in the number of individuals taking action against circus cruelty, a growth in the number of animal-free circuses, and several new bans against the use of animals in the circus enacted around the world.
But with this progress has also come some heartbreak, like the passing of precious elephant Anna Louise and numerous instances caught on video by CompassionWorks International of elephants being forced to perform under threat and injury from bullhooks. We have also documented several elephants exhibiting lameness and other ailments, which we have shared with the USDA.
Because of this continued cruelty, we must keep working not just for Nosey, but for every animal confined to abusive circus life. Please visit cwint.org/donate to support our work and stand beside us as we fight for elephants like Nosey, Viola, Isa, Tracy, Carol, and Patty, as well as every other animal still suffering behind the big top.
Thank you once again for all of your actions for Nosey, your vigilance in notifying us when you have seen any performing wild animal in your area, and for supporting CWI in our efforts to put an end to circus cruelty once and for all.
We will will not stop fighting until the use of animals in the circus is relegated once and for all to the history books.
https://www.facebook.com/CompassionWorksIntl/
https://www.instagram.com/compassionworks/
https://twitter.com/cwintl
https://www.facebook.com/ActForNosey/videos/2022923604454600/
How Japan is Fueling the Slaughter of Elephants.
Five takeaways from a new report slamming Japan’s ability to keep illegal ivory out of its legal market.
BEFORE CHINESE DEMAND for ivory began driving the black market and illegal killing of tens of thousands of elephants each year, it was Japan’s market for hanko, personal seals used to sign contracts, that fueled the ivory trade.
For at least a thousand years, they’ve been made in Japan out of a variety of materials. In the early part of the 20th century, most were created from water buffalo horn, wood, or crystal. But as the Japanese economy began to grow in the 1950s, ivory hankos rose in popularity. In 1980, 55 percent of the gross weight of ivory used in Japan went into creating hankos, according to a report by Save the Elephants, a Kenya-based conservation and research organization.
From 1970 to 1989, Japan imported some 5,000 tons of ivory—the equivalent of about 250,000 dead elephants, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. By 1989, it was the world’s biggest ivory importer.
A ban on the international ivory trade by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates the international wildlife trade, went into force in 1990.
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But in 1999, CITES let Japan to buy almost 50 tons of ivory in an experimental sale. CITES allowed it because it found Japan had done a solid job of showing it had controls in place to prevent illegal ivory from reaching its domestic market. A second one-time sale was allowed in 2008, and Japan took home another 43 tons.
As it turns out, Japan hasn’t done that great of a job keeping out illegal ivory. A new report released Wednesday by the Environmental Investigation Agency, came to a harsh conclusion: “Japan’s system is plagued by loopholes and undercut by weak legislation to such an extent that no meaningful control exists at even the most basic level.”
Here are five of the biggest takeaways from the report:
1. Japan’s ivory control systems have some major loopholes. People who own a tusk are required to register it with the government in order to prove they got it legally—either from one of the two CITES sales or from before the ban went into effect. But proof can be anything from an actual legal document, such as a customs form showing it was imported before the ban, to a statement from the Japanese importer himself promising he obtained it legally. “This means that the person who stands to benefit from the tusk registration is relied on as the primary source of proof of legality,” the report says. Not surprisingly, this system is ripe for abuse. More than 1,000 tusks of “dubious” origin have been registered and legalized since 2011 “without a shred of real proof of legal acquisition or origin,” the report says.
2. Japan’s ivory traders are often willing to engage in illegal activity in order to register tusks. Investigators surveyed 37 ivory trades, and 30 of them offered to buy or cut up unregistered tusks, or to register them using false information. Traders told undercover investigators, “We must lie on these statements,” and, “If you want a [registration] certificate, you can’t write the truth.”
3. The ivory trade is on the rise in Japan. More tusks are being registered with the government each year. In 2010, about 500 tusks were registered. By 2014, it was nearly 1,900 tusks. Sales are up too. In 2010, Yahoo! Japan closed ivory sales worth about $2 million. By 2014, sales had jumped to nearly $7 million.
4. Internet sales are at the heart of the illegal trade. Yahoo! Japan and Rakuten Ichiba, two of Japan’s biggest online retailers, have sold more and more ivory each year. On a single day in August, researchers counted 6,000 ivory products for sale on those two sites alone, valued at $5.1 million. The vast majority were hanko seals. Most of the online dealers fail to comply with even the most basic legal requirements, the report says. This, it says, is evidence of the government’s “ineffective monitoring and an inability or unwillingness to enact meaningful enforcement measures against illegal ivory trade.”
5. Some of the ivory for sale in Japan is going abroad, to places like China. Numerous bidding agencies offer to help international buyers make ivory purchases from Japan’s retail and auction websites, even though the international trade in ivory is illegal. A Hong Kong based company, for example, had more than 8,000 listings on its website for Japan-based ivory products it could help its customers procure. Authorities have seized almost one ton of ivory moving from Japan to China.
This story was produced by National Geographic’s Special Investigations Unit, which focuses on wildlife crime and is made possible by grants from the BAND Foundation and the Woodtiger Fund. Read more stories from the SIU on Wildlife Watch. Send tips, feedback, and story ideas to ngwildlife@natgeo.com.
Tell Mattel to Discontinue Its Elephant Ride and Dog Breeder Dolls Immediately. Mattel is selling a Barbie and another doll that glorify riding elephants, despite knowing that these sensitive animals must be emotionally and mentally broken in order to allow humans to ride on their backs. Plus, the company sells a Barbie that promotes dog breeding, a cruel industry that contributes to the overwhelming companion animal overpopulation crisis. If you're buying toys as gifts for the holiday season, be sure to avoid any that promote animal abuse, and tell Mattel to clean up its act. Contact Mattel Today.
