What Can One Person Do?
Recently in Chad, armed ivory poachers slaughtered 86 elephants - including 33 pregnant females. And this horrific event doesn’t end here and now, but as said Celine Sissler-Bienvenu from IFAW states, “Even if the conditions were right, which they are not, it would take more than 20 years for this population to recover.” CITES, the world watchdog for endangered animal protection, met in March but not much progress was made for elephants. So where does that leave one individual who loves elephants and wants to see them in the wild in fifty years? Despair?
Although this matter is very grave (in both the figurative and literal sense of the word), it is important for people like you and me not to lose hope. We may not be scientists living amidst and studying elephants, or government officials creating and enforcing laws to protect them. But we are the populous of the world. We number over 7 billion. United together, we are more powerful than the illicit ivory trade & corruption.
What can I do? What can you do?
- SHARE. News about elephants can be found everywhere (National Geographic, Huffington Post, CNN, you name it, there’s coverage). Start sharing the stories to your friends & family. Raise public awareness about this issue. That’s why I created Elephantopia!
- SIGN. Petitions are a great way to have our voices heard in unison. Consider signing Elephantopia’s petition to Pope Francis concerning ivory used in religious art. Religions should not be one of the driving causes of elephant extinction!
- SEND. Tell China and CITES that when ivory is being used, elephants are being killed. And this is intolerable! It is time to kill the trade that kills the elephants.
Ivory carving factory in China email: [email protected]
CITES China email: [email protected]
CITES USA email: [email protected]
Chinese Embassy in DC email: [email protected]
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The moral/ethical outrage is there. Educating the Chinese will take time which the elephants do not have. What is missing from all these programs, websites, Twitter/FB sites is the economic solution for the nations of Africa as well as Asia to do something to protect these precious animals. It must bring an economic advantage to Africa to invest the funds to protect and save the animals while re-education in Asia is being done. Also, the carvers in China will need to find other occupations which is not likely to be easy. The shop keepers will need to find another lucrative business. The Chinese who seek luxury on which to spend their money need to be redirected to other luxury goods. Brainstorming is needed to come up with these many solutions needing to be found.
Very true, brainstorming is key. Albert Einstein once said “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” However as governments, nonprofits, scientists, news agencies and the like try to find solutions to these issues, it’s critical for individuals like you and me to keep sharing news with others. Just yesterday, I spoke with a friend who 1) did not know elephants may go extinct by 2020. They had never heard about it. and 2) did not know that tusks couldn’t grow back. The whole reason the issue was brought up, was they were interested in why I was posting about elephants on my FB wall. Sharing is a great way to start conversations. And this was happening in a large metropolitan city in the US. So if someone here doesn’t know, chances are probably hundreds of thousands of others don’t either, and it’s up to us who do know to continue to share. Thank you for your insight and passion to save the elephants!
Thank you for supplying specific e-mail addresses to send notes of protest to. This takes only a minute to do and it DOES have an effect! Ripples in a pond can become a tsunami.
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