Most people don't realize that there is a real crisis going on with elephants. They are seriously in danger of extinction. One precious elephant is murdered for their ivory every 15 minutes, thats 96 elephants killed every single day. 35,000 elephants are poached every single year. If serious action isn't taken now, it is possible that elephants will be completely extinct in just 7 years. The demand for ivory keeps growing as the number of elephants grow fewer and fewer. Elephants are decreasing in all four regions of Africa at an alarming rate.
Elephants are highly intelligent and emotional creations that are capable of great suffering and pain. They create long term family bonds within their family units. This is not just a massive extinction, this is an injustice of incredible individual suffering. The elephants mourn their dead.
What Can We Do to Save the African Elephants
One immediate solution is to ban the sale of all ivory. In the United States there are endless amounts of ivory jewelry, ornaments, decorations and more. Every single one of those baubles and jewels means a dead elephant. Elephants are very resilient, if we protect them properly. they can recover.
The big issue at hand is that ivory is expensive and poachers are readily willing to risk their lives because the payoff is so high. Its so important that 'ivory demand' countries truly understand the cost of lives required for each small trinket. It's important that the new generation regards ivory with horror instead of regarding these pieces as a status symbol. The United States government has taken great strides in improving this issue but we haven't banned ivory 100% in the US yet.
Fashion for Conservation
The Fashion industry is now standing up to bring more awareness to this dire issue. Fashion for Conservation is leading the way by partnering with some of the top brands in fashion and conservation to create their new Elephantasia campaign.
Elephantasia brings together 12 renowned fashion designers in a traveling runway show designed to raise awareness and dollars for the endangered African elephants. Elephantasia premiered in 2016 with coverage from Vogue, The Huffington Post, The New York Times and more. It will be returning in November 2016 at Eco Fashion-Week during London Fashion Week.
Head to www.fashionforconservation.com for more information and to find out how you can help save these precious, gentle giants.
