Target: President of China, Xi Jinping
Goal: Thank Chinese government for banning all ivory trading.
The Chinese government announced that it will be banning all ivory commerce in the country by the end of 2017. The government plans to shut down the ivory market in phases throughout the year. This will begin with all legal ivory processing factories, which will have to close their doors by March 31. By the end of 2017, ivory trading in China will be completely prohibited. The Chinese government’s decision comes after years of tireless work from animal advocates, including members of the ForceChange community who signed and shared petitions like this one.
Due to conflict in Central Africa, elephant poaching has been increasing. Now, scientists say that for the first time in years, more elephants are killed than are born, resulting in the elephant population steadily decreasing. Demand for ivory in China is one of the reasons why poachers continue thriving. China currently has the world’s largest ivory market, and wildlife researchers estimate that between 50 to 70 percent of all ivory ends up in China. Ending legal ivory commerce in China could help save elephants from disappearing altogether.
The Chinese government has made the right choice by banning ivory in their country. Sign this petition to thank President Xi Jinping for standing up for elephants, and for not allowing poachers to make a profit in his country any longer.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear President Xi Jinping,
I’m writing to thank you for putting a ban on ivory trading in your country. I also applaud your decision to have all ivory commerce shut down within the next year. China has the world’s largest ivory market, with an estimated 50 to 70 percent of all ivory in the world going to China. By banning ivory, you’ll help stop poaching, which has decimated the elephant population in Central Africa.
Banning ivory in China is the right choice, and it will save the lives of countless elephants. Thank you for putting an end to the cruel ivory industry in China. Now, I urge you to continue carefully enforcing the ban to ensure that no illegal ivory makes its way into your country.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Benh Lieu Song
thank you china for stopping this!
I’ll believe it, when I see it!
In other words, lets give it a few months at least to see if they are sincere….at other times they’ve promised to stop the Yulin Dog eating festival, and that has not happened!
The event only started in the 1990s and isn’t even official, it’s said, no one can claim this festival has precedent. 11 million Chinese have signed a petition demanding the abolition of the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, “Yulin is a total embarrassment to China,” says one member of an anti-cruelty group, and yet it still goes on… Protesters are said to be up against the greed incurred by those marketing cheaply gained meat…among other things, an issue of “the chasing of profit”… http://time.com/4363824/yulin-dog-meat-festival-china-petition/
ENDING THE LEGAL IVORY TRADE in China, one of the world’s largest consumers of elephant ivory is critical to saving the elephant species as demand for elephant ivory has skyrocketed in recent years, resulting in poaching levels that are driving elephants towards extinction.
As with bans everywhere, and in relation to the last commentator’s misgivings, a ban is nothing without enforcement…the second, often difficult, part of the equation. Wildlife smuggling is the fourth most lucrative area of global crime, superimposed financial values in wildlife crime generate violence, corruption and organized crime networks worldwide… Hopefully, China has the resources, strength and determination to back up such a ban with “enforcement”, the ban a biggest sign of hope for elephants and a threatened ecosystem since the present poaching crisis began…
As you say, enforcement is necessary to make a ban more than just another document. Nevertheless, the promise keeps me hopeful that this will lead to a reduction in the poaching of elephants. I signed this petition to encourage the necessary determination from Chinese leaders to make this ban succeed.
Now China needs to stop killing the rest of the earth’s wildlife.
Exactly.
The world needs to immediately convince them to stop poaching and killing every species on earth. Studies have shown that all of these medical claims for all of these rare body parts are false and useless.
Extinction By Traditional Chinese Medicine – An Environmental Disaster
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/08/08/extinction-by-traditional-chinese-medicine-an-environmental-disaster/#5bf1221039fc
But this has not stopped TCM from getting its own “scientific” journal, the Chinese Medicine Journal. This new journal is published by BioMed Central which is owned by Springer Verlag, a science publishing giant who has decided that embracing a new huge audience is more important than rigorous scientific integrity or the preservation of endangered species.
To the millions of people who practice Traditional Chinese Medicine, rhinoceros horn is a medical necessity, they believe it works and are willing to fund the poachers as effectively as any drug cartel. The dwindling number of rhinos only increases the price and ensures their extinction.
This is China – I’ll believe this when I see this.
Signed & shared