Success: Courts Uphold Ivory Ban

Target: The Right Honourable Theresa Villiers, UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Goal: Thank those who upheld a ban on elephant ivory after antique dealers attempted to overturn it.

United Kingdom (UK) high courts have rejected a bid by antique dealers to overturn the country’s ivory ban. A group of dealers tried to argue that “cultural heritage objects” were perfectly legal to sell, with no connection to or impact on the elephants who were killed for their tusks. They claimed the ban was an infringement on individual rights, only for their argument to be shut down.

This is a major victory in the fight to save critically endangered elephants. For decades, these creatures have been killed by the thousands for their tusks, by ivory dealers looking to make a profit. Even as the use of ivory fell out of practice, it did little to stop the poaching of elephants across the globe. Every effort to stop the ivory trade was challenged or undermined. Petitions such as this one circulated, demanding tighter bans and the closing of loopholes.

The UK court has taken a great step forward in the fight to protect elephants. Sign this petition to thank the government for helping to make this possible.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Secretary Villiers,

Thank you for helping to retain the UK’s ban on ivory sales by rejecting antique dealers’ bid to overturn it. Dealers claimed that their products were different from the ivory made of the tusks of slain elephants today, but this is completely untrue. Ivory is still ivory, and too many elephants have died over the last several decades for the sake of such items.

The court’s rejection of this bid is a big step forward in the fight to protect elephants worldwide. Several species are nearly extinct due to the constant poaching, and despite many past efforts, ivory dealers and hunters have either violated or found loopholes in any legal protections set in motion. The court’s decision to keep the ban in place with no exceptions will surely help to protect and preserve what remains of the elephant population.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: ajoheyho