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It’s easy to forget about global issues happening every day when they feel like they are worlds away from us. But when wildlife poaching and consumption leads to the possibility of extinction of beautiful creatures in our lifetime, the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality just won’t cut it. As we approach World Elephant Day on August 12th, it’s important that we take time to reflect on ways that we can support these causes 365 days a year, so they don’t slip away from us and become forgotten. If you haven’t heard of WildAid prior to this, we’re here to give you a brief glimpse into the incredible work they are doing day in and day out to preserve these animals we are lucky enough to share this world with.
Photo credit: Kristian Schmidt
WildAid is a non-profit organization with a mission to end the illegal wildlife trade in our lifetimes. While most wildlife conservation groups focus on protecting animals from poaching, WildAid primarily works to reduce global consumption of wildlife products such as elephant ivory, rhino horn and shark fin soup. Their high-impact media campaigns feature some of the most influential voices in the world advocating for wildlife conservation on a massive scale thanks to nearly $230 million worth of donated media placement each year.
(Warning: contains violent content)
In 2012, WildAid launched a massive campaign to reduce ivory demand in China in partnership with Save the Elephants and the African Wildlife Foundation. Since then, public awareness of the crisis has grown rapidly. Our surveys showed a 50% increase from 2012 to 2014 in the number of Chinese who believe that elephant poaching is a major problem. The surveys also revealed that 95% of the public supports government action to end the ivory trade. According to traders, wholesale ivory prices in China and Hong Kong SAR dropped 57-78% in 2016 from the 2014 high of $2,100 per kilo.
On December 31, 2017, China, once the world’s largest ivory market, banned all domestic ivory sales. WildAid was instrumental in supporting the government in this historic action, the greatest single step in safeguarding the future of the African elephant. We continue our efforts to support a ban on ivory sales in Japan and Vietnam.
One year before the start of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, international and Japanese conservation organizations are appealing to Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike to ban the sale of ivory in the city. As Japan boasts the world’s largest legal domestic ivory market, its ongoing support for an industry that fuels the poaching of an estimated 20,000 African elephants each year threatens to tarnish the reputation of Tokyo and the 2020 Games.
When the Buying Stops, the Killing Can Too.
“My first elephant encounter was in Swaziland over twenty years ago. I was sitting in the back of an open top vehicle looking at a herd of elephants walking by when suddenly the largest elephant of all stepped out of line and walked directly towards me in the back of the vehicle. She walked right up to me, her trunk just inches away from me. I sat motionless, awestruck, humbled in her presence. Our driver Ted who owns the reserve was speaking to her in a hushed, calm tone, “Look at you, you extraordinary beautiful creature you”…. This went on for what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a moment or two. I was changed, …. in that brief moment I was trusted and accepted as a part of the natural world. As she turned and walked back into the bush to join her family I broke down in tears, sobbing quietly. I vowed in that moment to spend the rest of my life protecting her and her family. I will never forget that moment for as long as I live.”-Corie Knights, Director of Major Gifts and Events at WildAid-
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