Ivory Coast footballer supports African elephants

This video from England is called Yaya Toure Goals and Skills Manchester City 2012.

And this video is called Elephants in the Namib desert – Wild Africa – BBC.

From the United Nations Environment Program:

Cote d’Ivoire: Football Star Yaya Toure Flies the Flag for African Elephants at World Cup Qualifier

6 September 2013

Press release

Abidjan — International football star Yaya Toure will lend his voice to a UN-backed effort to prevent the illegal killing of elephants in Africa during a World Cup qualification match between Côte d’Ivoire and Morocco.

Côte d’Ivoire national football team star and captain of Manchester City FC, Yaya Toure and footballers at a World Cup qualifier match between Cote d’Ivoire and Morocco, will make a strong statement against the illegal killings of elephants in Africa on Saturday – in support of global efforts to stop the illegal trade in wildlife, championed by the United Nations and partners.

The sold-out game, which will be viewed by over 25 million people around the world, will feature the players carrying slogans to raise awareness against the killings of elephants and other wildlife.

Increased poaching and loss of habitats are threatening the survival of African elephant populations – especially in Central African countries – according to a report entitled “Elephants in the Dust – The African Elephant Crisis”, released in Bangkok in March at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The UN estimates that over 17,000 elephants were illegally killed in monitored sites in 2011 alone. Overall figures may be much higher

In Cote d’Ivoire, the number of elephants has fallen to 800 individuals, according to recent reports.

October 2013. As the surge in African elephant poaching and illegal ivory trade continues, the Government of Botswana and IUCN are convening a high-level summit on the African Elephant, calling for stronger global action to halt the illegal trade and secure viable elephant populations across Africa.

October 2013. An estimated 9,600 forest elephants still reside in Odzala-Kokoua National Park in Republic of Congo, according to the results of a wildlife census commissioned by African Parks in 2012, but just released. Whilst higher than expected, this healthy number is believed to be a result of compression, with elephants fleeing highly poached areas outside the park and moving into the safety of the centre of Odzala: here.

MPs and charities are calling on the UK government to divert Foreign Aid money into helping fight wildlife crime like elephant poaching. An innovative Early Day Motion (EDM) has been tabled by Zac Goldsmith MP, asking the government to make a ‘substantial and strategically important contribution’ towards the protection of elephants across Africa.

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• Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire draw 1-1 in World Cup qualifier (firstpost.com)
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