The Email from Leonardo DiCaprio
Dear friends at Avaaz,
Across Africa, elephants are being slaughtered by poachers in record numbers -- and their tusks hacked off with chainsaws -- to make luxury items, statues and trinkets in Asia. But in days, Thailand will host a key global summit on illegal trade in endangered species, giving us a rare chance to stop this futile massacre.
Thailand is the world’s largest unregulated ivory market and a top driver of the illegal trade.They’ve been in the hot seat for years, yet so far little has been done to clamp down on their role in the elephant attack. But Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has just announced that she is considering a full ivory ban. That's why we started a global petition on the Avaaz site, to give this campaign the last push it needs to win.
This is the best chance we’ve had in years to have a meaningful victory for Africa’s elephants -- we just need to put people power behind it. Join me now to stop the bloody ivory trade. Sign the urgent petition and share it with everyone:
It’s heartbreaking to hear conservationists use the term ‘killing frenzy’ to describe the scale of elephant poaching right now -- it’s the worst it's been in over 2 decades. Exploiting a legal loophole that allows the sale of ivory from Thailand’s domestic elephants, criminals smuggle in illegally obtained African ivory, mix it in with domestic sources so no one can tell them apart, then get away with selling it on the open market.
But there is serious pressure on Thailand to act, before the 10-day UN summit on endangered species begins in Bangkok. Now is the time for us to act to shut down the Thai Ivory trade and set a ripple effect across Asia, forcing other countries to confront their illegal ivory trade as well.
Join me now to turn up the heat on the Thai government and strike a blow against the ivory trade. Together we can win this. Help me reach 1 million before the meeting with PM Shinawatra in days. Sign and share with friends and family:
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. That these beautiful and highly intelligent creatures are being annihilated is a tragedy, but today we can right that wrong.
With hope and determination,
Leonardo DiCaprio, with the Avaaz team
MORE INFORMATION
- On Conference’s Eve, Thailand Is Pressed to Halt Ivory Trade (NY Times)
- Ivory traders meet to head off sanctions (The Nation)
- Leonardo DiCaprio: Actor calls for ivory trade ban in Thailand (The Washington Times)
- Activists want ivory sanctions on Thailand, others (Global Post)
- DiCaprio blasts Thai ivory sales (Bangkok Post)
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