Stop the elephant slaughter

[dipsydoodle]

Across Africa, elephants are being slaughtered by poachers in record numbers -- and their tusks hacked off with chainsaws -- to make luxury items, statues and trinkets in Asia. But in days, Thailand will host a key global summit on illegal trade in endangered species, giving us a rare chance to stop this futile massacre.

Thailand is the world’s largest unregulated ivory market and a top driver of the illegal trade.They’ve been in the hot seat for years, yet so far little has been done to clamp down on their role in the elephant attack. But Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has just announced that she is considering a full ivory ban. That's why we started a global petition on the Avaaz site, to give this campaign the last push it needs to win.


This is the best chance we’ve had in years to have a meaningful victory for Africa’s elephants -- we just need to put people power behind it. Join me now to stop the bloody ivory trade. Sign the urgent petition and share it with everyone.

- Leonardo DiCaprio



http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_elephants/?bvnYedb&v=22460

[xchrom]

1. Du rec. Nt

[Esse Quam Videri]

2. I can't even read this story it makes me so mad

but +1 Rec.

[pacalo]

3. Done!

[stuntcat]

4. k!

[struggle4progress]

5. Two-thirds of forest elephants killed by ivory poachers in past decade

The threat of extinction is growing for African forest elephants, according to a study released at the Cites summit in Bangkok
Damian Carrington, Bangkok
Tuesday 5 March 2013 06.23 EST

The forest elephants of Africa have lost almost two-thirds of their number in the past decade due to poaching for ivory, a landmark new study revealed on Tuesday. The research was released at an international wildlife summit in Bangkok where the eight key ivory-trading nations, including the host nation Thailand and biggest market China, have been put on notice of sweeping trade sanctions if they fail to crack down on the trade.

"The analysis confirms what conservationists have feared: the rapid trend towards extinction – potentially within the next decade – of the forest elephant," said Samantha Strindberg of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), one of 60 scientists on the research team.

There are about 100,000 forest elephants remaining in the forests of central Africa, compared with about 400,000 of the slightly larger savannah elephants. The total elephant population was over 1 million 30 years ago, but has been devastated by poaching driven by the rising demand for ivory ornaments in Asia ...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/05/two-thirds-forest-elephants-killed