Elephanatics
Did you know it is still legal to buy and sell ivory in Canada? Both African and Asian elephants may be extinct in the wild in our lifetime, mainly due to poaching. A coalition of organizations to include Elephanatics, Jane Goodall Institue Canada, World Elephant Day, Global March for Elephants and Rhinos – Toronto, and Humane Society Canada have created the #IvoryFreeCanada campaign to help keep our elephants alive. We sent a letter on March 14, 2018, to the Canadian government, requesting a ban on the domestic trade of elephant ivory in Canada. Over 90 Canadian and international scientists, conservationists, politicians and animal organizations co-signed our letter!
Now We Need Your Help!
- Find a favorite picture of yourself and overlay the #IvoryFreeCanada picture directly above on it (instructions below). Post it on your social media with these tags: #IvoryFreeCanada and @elephanaticsbc. Challenge your friends to do the same to save elephants.
- Email your photo to elephanaticsinfo@gmail.com and we will add it to this page.
- Sign the petition that will also go to the government. We have over 400,000 signatures and are trying for 500,000! Canadian AND international citizens can sign.
- Share the petition (www.change.org/p/you-can-make-history-ban-the-sale-of-elephant-ivory-in-canada-ivoryfreecanada) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
- Tell your friends and family about the elephant crisis and how a domestic ban on elephant ivory trade would help.
How to overlay pictures in Word:
- Click on one image.
- Click the Layout Options icon.
- Click See more.
- In the Options group on the Position tab, select the Allow overlap check box.
- Repeat this process for each picture that you want to be able to overlap.
In the last century, the Asian elephant population has declined by over 50% and African elephants have plummeted by 97%. Poaching for ivory threatens the very survival of our elephants. The two largest consumers of ivory – China and the United States – have banned domestic ivory sales. So why not Canada?
Our Petition to the Canadian Government
Sign our petition
Will we be the generation that lets elephants become extinct?
A shocking 20,000 elephants are killed every year for their ivory. Scientists and conservationists agree that at this rate, both African and Asian elephants will be extinct in the wild within our lifetime.
Even so, at the last IUCN World Conservation Congress, Canada was 1 of only 4 countries to oppose the closure of domestic ivory markets across the globe.
Ivory is so valuable on the black market that organized terrorism syndicates such as the Lord’s Resistance Army are committing mass slaughter using helicopters and AK-47 rifles. In 1980 Africa had more than 1.3 million elephants – today it has approximately 415,000. In less than 40 years, 70% of our elephants have disappeared.
In 1989, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) made it illegal to sell elephant ivory internationally. But each country makes its own laws regarding the sale of ivory within their borders. When domestic trade is allowed it permits illegal ivory (poached after 1989) to be sold along with legal ivory because it’s difficult to differentiate between old and new ivory without extensive and costly testing. The only way to protect elephants from extinction is to ban ALL elephant ivory trade.
China is the largest consumer of ivory in the world. It shut down its domestic ivory trade at the end of 2017. If China can stop their domestic trade, why can’t Canada?
On March 1, 2018, the United States lifted the ban on the importation of elephant trophies. If the U.S. cannot protect elephants, there is even more onus on the rest of the world to do all we can to save this iconic species.
We feel new legislation can protect both elephants and the indigenous trade of narwhal and walrus. We ask the government of Canada to:
1. ban all domestic trade of elephant ivory; and
2. make the import, export and re-export of all elephant ivory illegal.
Let’s make Canada one of the many countries changing their laws to allow the survival of the world’s largest mammal before it’s too late. Sign for an #ivoryfreecanada.
Sincerely,
Fran Duthie
President, Elephanatics
http://www.elephanatics.org
Photo: Larry Laverty
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Celebrating eight years of World Elephant Day – an interview with CEO Patricia Sims – #IvoryFreeCanada