Call on China to stem the surging demand for illegal ivory that is fueling the slaughter of Africa's remaining elephants.
Just days after Zimbabwe authorities reported
the discovery of 41 dead elephants, poisoned by poachers, the US Fish
and Wildlife Service announced plans to destroy the US ivory stockpile.
The government will crush the 6 million tons of seized ivory, forever
removing it from the illegal market while raising awareness of this
international threat to elephants and security.
Goal: 50,000
•
Progress: 47,906
Sponsored by: The Rainforest Site
After facing decimation in the 1980s, a global ban on ivory sales barely saved Africa's elephants from extinction.Then, in 2008 the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) agreed to unleash stockpiles of ivory in a "one-off" sale to China, and the decision kicked off a surge in demand for the coveted "white gold". Rather than reduce the need for black-market ivory and the poaching that supplies it, China's growing middle class wants more.
And they are willing to pay for it. Soaring prices encourage more poaching and attract the attention of armed rebel groups, corrupt government officials, and international criminal organizations. The profits, in turn, fund other illegal activities elsewhere in the world.
2011 and 2012 were especially lethal years for elephants, smashing previous records for illegal ivory seizures, typically captured en route to China. The trend shows no sign of slowing in 2013.
Petition the Chinese Ambassador to the United States to help reverse this bloody path towards extinction.
