Did you know that one elephant is killed every 15 minutes? The 4th of October is your chance to get involved with International March for Elephants Day which aims to raise awareness of the senseless slaughter of these magnificent creatures.
The worldwide march deliberately coincides with World Animal Day which also falls on 4 October 2013. More than 15 cities, including London, New York City, Rome and Melbourne, will unite across the globe to march for both Asian and African elephants which face a very uncertain future. In fact, if poaching continues at recent levels, it’s predicted that elephants will be extinct by 2015.
Elephants have been driven to the very brink of extinction by poachers looking to earn big bucks from their ivory which is then carved into objects such as jewellery, statues and furniture and also tuned into ‘medicines’. They are also hunted for food and have suffered due to the loss of their natural habitat. The plight of the largest land mammal in the world is highlighted by the WWF who report on the situation, raise funds and raise awareness. We reported on the valuable work that the WWF does, along with some important facts and statistics on our recent blog post ‘Get Involved with World Elephant Day’ which was held on 12 August 2013.
You can become a free member of the March for Elephants project, read their blog, take action and find local events on their website. Their mantra is ‘awareness is everything’.
And as a reminder, buying ivory in any form is both illegal in terms of the law and morally. Last year an estimated 36,000 elephants were killed just for their precious tusks. NEVER buy anything that you suspect may be made from ivory. And be cautious when buying objects online (especially on online auction sites) which may not fully disclose materials used. The site iworry.com has more details on their campaign and how you can get involved.
