Stop elephants being slaughtered for ivory

[Tiggerman]

Must have missed this one - anyway, just signed.

[Mark]

I was just sent a link for this by my Animal Husbandry lecturer, Manny. He is an official ranger in Zambia so he know first hand how important it is to get this passed.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/protect_the_elephants/96.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

PS - disgusted with Elle McPherson taking ground Rhino horn - I hope she chokes on it 

[swampmaxmum]

I signed this one too. In South Africa there is massive pressure from SA National Parks and the govt's environment dept to be allowed to sell ivory.

When I was part of a (doomed) campaign to save endangered tahrs out there from being annihilated by the same authorities, I had a steep learning curve - I enlisted the help of the Indian govt (tahrs are indigenous to the himalayas) only to find out that at every CITES meeting, there was a huge fight between SA and India over ivory.
It's just about money. The Chinese buy vast amounts and pay top dollar. It makes me sick.

[Mark]

It is a shame there isn't much time as my Animal Husbandry lecturer, Manny Mvula is Zambian and he is also passionate about Elephants. I am sure he must be aware of this, so surprised he hasn't emailed everyone. He is very well known in the African Conservation world ie Born Free. His Wife, Dr Cheryl Mvula also runs a responsible tourism company http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/news/article1962885.ece

[purrdy1]

I cannot believe this is still going on...signed xx

[Mark]

Signed

[Janeyk]

Signed

[Christine (Blip)]

Elephants or ivory?

I just signed an urgent petition calling on nations to protect elephants from poachers. There's a risk they will weaken the global ban on the lethal ivory trade -- it's being discussed at a UN convention this weekend!

The petition will be delivered directly to the convention, so I thought you might be interested in standing up for the elephants too: 

http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_more_bloody_ivory_gg/97.php?cl_tta_sign=08b7032114515d4ccc25c099fe06c836

Thanks!

This weekend (Mar 13), 2 African governments will try to pry open the worldwide ban on ivory trading -- a decision that could wipe out whole elephant populations and bring these magnificent animals closer to extinction.

Tanzania and Zambia are lobbying the UN for special exemptions from the ban, but this would send a clear signal to the ivory crime syndicates that international protection is weakening and it's open-season on elephants. Another group of African states have countered by calling to extend the trade ban for 20 years.

Our best chance to save the continent's remaining elephants is to support African conservationists. We only have 5 days left and the UN Endangered Species body only meets every 3 years. Click below to sign our urgent petition to protect elephants, and forward this email widely so we can deliver hundreds of thousands of signatures to the UN meeting in Doha:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_more_bloody_ivory_gg/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

Over 20 years ago, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) passed a worldwide ban on ivory trading. Poaching fell, and ivory prices slumped. But poor enforcement coupled with'experimental one-off sales', like the one Tanzania and Zambia are seeking, drove poaching up and turned illegal trade into a lucrative business -- poachers can launder their illegal ivory with the legal stockpiles.

Now, despite the worldwide ban, each year over 30,000 elephants are gunned down and their tusks hacked off by poachers with axes and chainsaws. If Tanzania and Zambia are successful in exploiting the loophole, this awful trade could get much worse.

We have a one off chance this week to extend the worldwide ban and repress poaching and trade prices before we lose even more elephant populations -- sign the petition now and forward this message to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_more_bloody_ivory_gg/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

Across the world's cultures and throughout our history elephants have been revered in religions and have captured our imagination -- Babar, Dumbo, Ganesh, Airavata, Erawan. But today these beautiful and highly intelligent creatures are being annihilated. As long as there is demand for ivory, poaching and smuggling will happen, but this week we have a chance to protect them and crush the ivory criminals' profits -- sign the petition now:

As long as there is demand for ivory, elephants are at risk from poaching and smuggling -- but this week we have a chance to protect them and crush the ivory criminals' profits -- sign the petition now:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_more_bloody_ivory_gg/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

With hope,

Ricken, Alice, Iain, Raluca, Graziela, Paul, Luis, Paula Benjamin, David, Ben and the rest of the Avaaz team

More information:

Partners at Bloody Ivory and Born Free:
http://www.bloodyivory.org/
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species: http://www.cites.org

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