“But perhaps the most important lesson I learned is that there are no walls between humans and the elephants except those that we put up ourselves, and that until we allow not only elephants, but all living creatures their place in the sun, we can never be whole ourselves.”
Lawrence Anthony
Please consider the following when you vote June 8th:
While the conservatives have not included the total ban on the trade in Ivory in their manifesto Labour has made a commitment to do so along with other plans to protect animals from abuse:
“We will prohibit the third-party sale of puppies, introduce and enforce a total ban on ivory trading, and support the ban on wild animals in circuses.”
Labour manifesto:
http://www.labour.org.uk/index.php/manifesto2017/leading-richer-lives
“If I were a minister, I would ban the lot and stop any trade in or movement of ivory. The survival of the elephant is far more important than a museum, however great it and the curators of the modern age may be, however wise, experienced and brilliant they may be and however great their genius.”
John Mann MP
Indeed elephants are more important than the preservation of antique ivory. Ivory is the leading factor in their threatened extinction, stopping the demand for ivory in any form, any age is fundamental to the survival of elephants.
“Elephants have roamed the wild for 15 million years, but today this iconic species face the biggest threat to survival due to continued ivory poaching. As long as there is a demand for ivory, elephants continue to be killed for their tusks. Today it is estimated up to 25,000 elephants are killed annually.”
REASONS TO SAVE THE ELEPHANT:
- If we don’t act now elephants could face localized extinctions.
- In some countries of Africa including Senegal, Somalia and Sudan, elephants have already been driven to extinction.
- Communities across Africa are dependent on elephants for an income through tourism. Saving the elephants also means preventing poverty, sustaining livelihoods and promoting sustainable tourism.
- Elephants are a keystone species. Other animals, plants and entire ecosystems rely on them for survival.
- ‘As go the elephants, so do the trees.’ Elephants are known as ‘nature’s gardeners’, plants and trees rely on elephants to disperse their seeds far and wide through their dung.
- Elephant’s large footprints act as water collectors for smaller animals.
- By uprooting trees to feed, they control the tree population leaving grasses to thrive and sustain animals such as wildebeests and zebras.
- Elephants share the same emotions and cognitive behavior as humans. They grieve for their lost loved ones, they feel fear, joy and empathy and are highly praised for their intelligence.
Read More about the threat to elephants and please take as many of the suggested actions as you can:
http://iworry.org/crisis/?gclid=CJHG-vXnlNQCFYE4GwodAXYHBQ
One action you can take on June 8th is to vote Labour, a total ban on the trade in ivory by the UK will help to protect elephants from poaching.
Elephants are on the brink of extinction and could well be gone from the wild in twelve years time.
China has put in place a ban on ivory however the “Chinese ban on trade specifically excludes items described as “genuine antiques”. This exemption raises concerns that elephants will continue to be poached to supply an increased trade in “ghost ivory” (illegal ivory sold as antique legal ivory) as the legitimate market closes.”
“You see old ivory on the same shelf as new ivory. I realized then there’s a major market in the Far East that looks at ivory as a commodity as well as an art form, and that the old ivory market is fuelling modern ivory demand.”
British auctioneer James Lewis
http://www.newsweek.com/elephants-china-ivory-trade-white-gold-extinction-545002
And this is the reason why we need a total ban on ivory, be it new or antique, existing ivory carvings perpetuates the demand in ivory. Furthermore it is not an easy matter to differentiate which is old ivory and which is new. In my opinion with the exception of antique ivory presently existing in museums, all existing ivory should be destroyed.
The UK needs a total ban which means also the ban on trade in antique ivory.
This will not happen under a conservative government. If you care about elephants vote Labour in the general election. Labour will put elephants before profits.
Related Links
Why would Theresa May ditch a pledge to ban ivory trading?
“The Tories’ manifesto has dropped a promise to outlaw the trade. Protecting wildlife should be a priority, not an option”
“Strange news: Theresa May has decided to drop a Tory pledge to push for a total ban on ivory trading (only the sale of ivory items produced after 1947 is prohibited). Why would she do that? Doesn’t she need votes? I thought nearly everyone loved elephants – who votes for helping to wipe them out? Apparently, wealthy antiques dealers. Lady (Victoria) Borwick, the Tory candidate for Kensington and the president of the British Antique Dealers’ Association, is an acquaintance of the PM; perhaps she was whom May had in mind.”
Continue Reading:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/22/why-would-theresa-may-ditch-pledge-ban-ivory-trading
“Foxes, badgers, robins and now ELEPHANTS: hidden manifesto plan by Tories to allow ivory trade
“Under David Cameron the Conservatives had pledged – along with other UK political parties – to put into place a ban on ivory trading. This follows bans by China, the US and other important ivory trading countries to end domestic trades in ivory by the end of 2017.
But there is no mention of the ban in Theresa May’s Tory 2017 manifesto.”
Continue reading:
https://tompride.wordpress.com/2017/05/20/tories-bow-to-wealthy-antiques-dealers-and-drop-ban-on-elephant-ivory-in-manifesto/
Rantings From a Virtual Soapbox 
Yet another good reason to vote Labour. Beggars belief, doesn’t it? Until you realise the PM’s happy to sacrifice an entire iconic species for the sake of keeping a few wealthy cronies happy. More like Trump than she would care to admit. Still doesn’t explain why the Nasty Party has failed for all these years to ban wild animals in circuses. I don’t exactly see them rubbing shoulders with circus people at their cocktail parties.