Solutions To Stop Slaughter

Dear Gabriel,

Elephants are incredibly intelligent, family-oriented animals, who have been known to mourn the deaths of their loved ones and demonstrate compassion toward strangers. But thanks to increased ivory demand in China and elsewhere, they’re being slaughtered by the hundreds.

In January, hundreds of pieces of elephant ivory were seized at Kenya’s main port. And those are just the smugglers who got caught. Who knows how many elephants have been murdered for their tusks in the last few years alone?

The rise in poaching is not only an environmental or animal welfare issue; it’s also an economic one. Diminishing numbers of elephants in Kenya means a loss of revenue from tourists who travel to the country to see the elephants.

This week at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Kenya asked a wider group of countries to pledge not to sell ivory stockpiles, which is a great sign of commitment. But they must also take steps to address the elephant slaughter before it happens. Ask the Kenyan government to draft new legislation to combat poaching in their country — before the elephants are gone forever.

Thank you for taking action,

Kathleen
Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team