The world's elephant and rhino populations are at a tipping point. Conservatively, one elephant is poached for its tusks every 26 minutes, and one rhinoceros is poached for its horn every seven hours. Currently, some populations are depleting so rapidly that a single animal can be the difference between extinction or species survival.
With countries around the world implementing legislation that bans the domestic trade of elephant ivory, you may be surprised to learn that it is still legal to buy and sell ivory (and rhinoceros horn) in Australia.
We need you to write to the Australian Minister for the Environment, Melissa Price, calling on the Australian Government to implement the recommendations of the recent Parliamentary inquiry and enact legislation to close Australia's domestic ivory and rhinoceros horn markets.
The future of elephants and rhinoceros is dependent on eliminating the demand for their ivory and horn products, and we greatly value your support towards this cause.
Dear Minister Price,
As a supporter of IFAW, I was disappointed to learn that it is legal to buy and sell ivory and rhinoceros horn in Australia.
Numerous investigations conducted by ifaw (International Fund for Animal Welfare) have indicated that not only is there a steady supply for ivory and rhinoceros horn, there is also a strong demand for these products. As long as legal commercial markets for wildlife products such as ivory and rhinoceros horn exist, there will be a demand for such products and therefore an incentive for poachers to continue hunting elephants and rhinoceros.
With countries like Canada, France the United States of America, China and more recently the United Kingdom implementing legislation that bans the domestic trade of elephant ivory, it is time that Australia takes action and joins the global movement to end the trafficking of ivory and rhinoceros horn.
I was very pleased to learn that the recent Joint Parliamentary Committee on Law Enforcement's Inquiry into the domestic trade in ivory and rhino horn recommended that the Australian Government work to implement a ban in line with other like-minded international jurisdictions.
To ensure a future for elephants and rhinoceros, Australia must take decisive action and implement a legislative ban on the domestic trade of ivory and rhinoceros horn.
[Your comments]
Sincerely,
[Your name]
