Elephant extinction in your lifetime?

Hi Katalusis friends,

When you think of the beauty and dignity of an elephant, the email below from Defenders of Wildlife will break your heart. May each of us do what we can to prevent this crisis in our wildlife family.

FW: CRISIS: Elephant extinction in your lifetime?
1 message

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Jamie Rappaport Clark, Defenders of Wildlife	Wed, Aug 26, 2015 at 7:30 AM
Reply-To: "Jamie Rappaport Clark, Defenders of Wildlife" To: Virginia Bergman
Virginia- Elephants extinct? It’s unimaginable, but it’s also very possible. Help us stop the countdown to elephant extinction. Donate today and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar until August 31st, up to a total of $150,000. Elephants and other imperiled wildlife are counting on you! -Jamie Help Us Fight Dollar-for-Dollar African elephants could be extinct in just 15 years. $30 becomes $60 $50 becomes $100 $100 becomes $200 $250 becomes $500 Please make an urgent donation today – with the match, your gift will go twice as far! Dear Virginia, It simply breaks my heart to share this news with you. At current levels of poaching, the African elephant could be extinct by the year 2030. That tragic date is well within the lifetime of nearly everyone reading this email. Defenders is fighting back – but we need to raise $150,000 by August 31st to sustain our efforts for elephants and other imperiled species. From now until August 31st, your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to a total of $150,000! Countdown to Extinction Poaching has reached epidemic proportions. Tanzania, once the African elephant capital of the world, has lost two-thirds of its elephants to poachers in just four years. Across Africa, nearly 100 elephants perish every day. That's almost one every 15 minutes. Armed poachers are like invading mercenaries, wiping out entire herds at a time. They are organized, sophisticated and lethal. No elephant is safe. And poaching isn’t the only threat these magnificent animals face. Elephant habitat disappears every day because of human encroachment. What’s worse – there’s still legal elephant hunting. In other words, 2030 might be too optimistic. But There’s Still Hope To stop the extinction clock, we need to stop demand for ivory. And it starts here at home – did you know that the U.S. is the world’s second largest ivory importer? Your urgent gift will help elephants by supporting Defenders’ work to: Fight to stop the importation of imperiled big game "trophies" such as lions, elephants and rhinos; Mobilize against Congressional efforts to weaken proposed restrictions on the domestic ivory trade; Support legislation to enhance international anti-poaching efforts and impose stricter penalties for wildlife trafficking; At the grassroots level, help enact state-wide ivory bans in key consuming states; and Support protection for imperiled species at international wildlife fora such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Can you imagine the end of elephants on Earth? It doesn’t have to happen, but we’re running out of time. Please help today, and remember, your gift will be matched until August 31st, up to a total of $150,000. For the wild, Jamie Rappaport Clark President, Defenders of Wildlife