[StBernard] Elephants or ivory?

[Westley Annis]

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 next week! 

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


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

Thanks!

(Read more below)

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Dear friends,

Within days, 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 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/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/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, 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/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

With hope,

Paul, Alice, Iain, Raluca, Graziela, Ricken, 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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