Please share this petition worldwide and on all media sites to bring pressure on the Chinese government.
The elephants of Africa are heading towards extinction. Tragically, one elephant is killed by a poacher every 15 minutes for its ivory. The rate of killing compared to natural population growth means the largest animal on Earth could soon become extinct.
China licenses 35 ivory carving factories and 130 ivory retailers to sell 'legal' ivory. Nonetheless, it is the factories and retailers that sustain the current poaching crisis. ‘Legal’ ivory is obtained from the 2008 CITES sanctioned sale of ivory stockpiles from four African countries, however, a 2011 survey by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) found that out of all the carving factories and retailers in China, 101 were not licensed or were smuggling ivory.
The Chinese government has been cracking down on the illegal trade, but the legal ivory market is a cover for the vast illegal market. There would be no market for the poachers if China banned all ivory and closed down the carving factories and retailers.
Already a member of CITES, China has been hinting it could take a harder line on elephant ivory. China participated in the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade earlier this year, which urged a tougher stance on the ivory trade.
It’s time for China to take action before the world loses another iconic species. Please sign the petition and demand that China closes the ivory carving factories and ivory retailers to save the elephant from extinction.
Update #39 years ago
China has imposed a one-year ban on the import of ivory amid criticism that Chinese consumers are fuelling a poaching crisis in Africa. Conservationists have warned the animal could be wiped out in parts of Africa in the next few years - China is the world's largest importer of smuggled tusks. A one year ban is a good start - but the use of ivory needs to be banned for the long term to save this iconic species. Please share this urgent petition.
Update #29 years ago
Africa's elephants have reached a tipping point: more are being killed each year than are being born, a study suggests.
Researchers believe that since 2010, an average of nearly 35,000 African elephants have been killed.
If China closed down all ivory carving factories and banned the sale of ivory - the slaughter would stop. Please share the petition widely to pressure the Chinese government.
Update #19 years ago
UPDATE: Entire elephant populations are dying out in many African countries due to poaching on a massive scale, wildlife regulator CITES warned Friday. Organised crime syndicates are believed to be behind the industrial sized scale of the slaughter. More than ever, China must shut-down all of its ivory carving factories and retailers to save the elephant from extinction. Please sign and share the petition.
