Stop elephant killing

This video says about itself:

96 Elephants: Year One of a Global Movement

18 September 2014

One year ago, WCS launched the 96 Elephants campaign to stop the killing, stop the trafficking, and stop the demand for illegal ivory. Since then, half a million of you have taken action. From signing petitions to contacting state and federal officials, posting on social media or making a donation to support elephant-saving programs. We have 160 partners and supporters in all 50 states and 194 countries. And it is making a real difference for elephants, with more trained park guards on the ground, increased aerial anti-poaching surveillance flights and sniffer dog units, and new and stronger government partnerships.

Take a quick look at this short video to celebrate all we’ve accomplished together in this first year alone.

As you can see, we’ve claimed significant victories for elephants but this battle is far from finished. There is so much more for this community to do in the coming year but for now, thank you for joining the herd. Together we will not be remembered as the generation that let elephants go extinct.

The Wildlife Conservation Society in the USA writes about this video:

Almost exactly one year ago, the 96 Elephants campaign launched. And it’s grown every single day since. Whether it’s signing petitions, contacting state and federal officials, posting on social media, or making a donation to support elephant-saving programs, this community has come through.

We’ve had more victories than I can possibly list here. Skim through the highlights below to get a sample and get inspired by watching this stunning video. Here’s a look behind all of those emails we send asking for your help, and the wins you’ve helped accomplish along the way.

Ivory sales are now banned in New York – which was the largest market for legal ivory in the United States until now.

The legal market was providing a front to allow the illegal market to thrive. The only way to prevent that was to close the legal market.

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For five months, more than 18,000 of you tirelessly sent letters to the New York State legislature and Gov. Cuomo urging a ban.
Your letters hit at the most strategic moments: each new wave of messages came during various committee votes, important legislative milestones, and key talks between our staff and state leadership.
WCS staff testified before New York’s Committee on Environmental Conservation – a committee that proved critical to securing a legislative win – to educate them on how legal ivory markets kill elephants.
We commissioned a poll that found that more than 80% of New Yorkers supported a ban on ivory sales.
We personally met with the Governor to make sure that he was on our side and would sign the bill we were pushing so hard to pass.
Our New York City team collected elephant drawings with heartfelt messages from more than 7,200 kids, which we hand-delivered to the Governor’s office right as we were asking him to sign the newly passed bill.

And New York wasn’t the only ivory victory, New Jersey also instituted a ban and the Obama Administration announced a proposed federal ban on ivory sales!

35,000 of you asked PBS’s Antiques Roadshow to stop appraising ivory on-air. They listened.

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After receiving the first flood of letters, our targets at PBS quickly shut down their email accounts. So we found more ways to reach them and new targets to contact.
Antiques Roadshow posted a statement on its website reiterating its ivory policy and removed prominent examples of past ivory appraisals.
Unsatisfied, we launched our second round of pressure with a quirky video parody of an appraisal.
PBS then agreed to open a dialogue with us.
In the meantime, on social media, we took over the Antiques Roadshow hashtag during a Monday night broadcast.
After a few rounds of talks, they announced an end to all on-air appraisals of carved tusks, removed past appraisals from the series archive on the Antiques Roadshow website, and added information to the show’s site discussing the severity of the ivory crisis.

Against all odds, elephant populations are holding steady in two parks we help manage in the Republic of Congo. That’s your donations at work.

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Elephant numbers in the Nouabale-Ndoki National Park have held steady since 2006. In Conkouati-Douli, the number of elephants has increased by as much as 50 percent since 2010.
The parks are becoming safe havens and elephants know it. Researchers on the ground are documenting elephants from surrounding areas relocating to the parks.
WCS-trained ecoguards in Conkouati-Douli are so vigilant and effective that elephants now venture into parts of the park they were too afraid to visit a decade ago.
Through a combination of your generous support, smart park management, protecting elephants on the ground, and educating the surrounding community we’ve shown we CAN turn the tide against poachers.

Be proud. These are amazing accomplishments. Of course, our work is not complete. Much still has to be done to bring African elephants back from the brink of extinction. However, I’m confident that with you standing with us, the next year of our campaign will achieve even more for these amazing animals.

Check out our 96 Elephants video retrospective and give yourself a pat on the back.

Without a doubt, there’s more left for this community to do in the coming year, but we’re making real, substantial strides. Thank you for being there for elephants.

Best,

James Deutsch
John F. Calvelli
Executive Vice President, Public Affairs
Wildlife Conservation Society
Director, 96 Elephants