URGENT: Help stop deadly wildlife crime
Alejandra Goyenechea
Elephants butchered for their tusks. Parrots smuggled from the jungle to fuel the exotic pet trade. Lizards hacked into handbags.
A heartbreaking number of animal species are being traded into extinction.
The international trade in wildlife and wildlife products is big business, and the illegal trade is on a scale comparable to trafficking in drugs and guns. This month, my colleagues and I will attend a global gathering of nations in South Africa to stem the extinction epidemic that threatens so many animal and plant species.
And you can help too, right now, by signing our wildlife protection pledge. When you sign, you’re affirming your commitment to do what you can – as a consumer and as an advocate – to protect the wildlife we all love.
The gathering is the Conference of the Parties for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, which is an international agreement to regulate wildlife that is threatened by trade. One hundred eighty-two countries and territories have signed on since the treaty went into force in 1975.
I’d like you to be with me in spirit at the CITES meeting. I will carry the names of the people who sign this pledge with me every day. It will be an important reminder that I speak not only for Defenders, but for tens of thousands of wildlife-lovers all around the world.
In addition to reducing demand for elephant ivory, Defenders is especially concerned about a range of species that are currently in growing danger – animals like African gray parrots, devil rays, nautilus, Titicaca water frogs, Ocellate River stingrays and arboreal alligator lizards.
These animals have no voice of their own. You and I must speak for them.
Thank you so much for your care and concern.
Sincerely,
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Alejandra Goyenechea Senior International Counsel |