Something Holy

In one's life there comes a moment, a still point, when we are aroused from the slumber of our single, myopic life. Something so intimate, so authentic , almost holy awakens our heart and hushes our frenetic mind. We are moved to engage, to offer ourselves to something mysterious and boundless. For many of us, this initiation takes place in the presence of elephants.

 

~Quote by Elephant Advocacy~

Photo credit: This incredible image is by photographer and journalist Robyn Gianni. We are very grateful for permission to share her work with you.  Robyn's images and writings are a poetic reflection of her deep love and communion with Africa and its iconic wildlife.  We invite you to visit Robyn and her beautiful images click here.

We Can Make A Difference!

Please know that many great scientists, conservationists, naturalists, NGO’s, non-profits and wildlife enforcement agencies are fighting hard for African and Asian elephants. They are working tirelessly to motivate governments, judiciaries and intelligence agencies around the globe to close the gaps in the ivory war. What we can do is to hold the intention and support them in everyway possible. We can share their work through social media and when ...possible donate to their efforts. We can also do our part by signing petitions, writing letters and using our creative talents to raise global awareness and fundraise. Below are a few immediate actions we can take. We realize many of you have completed these actions, but please check the list to confirm. We welcome all of you who have not had the chance to participate in these actions.

Thank you, Elephant Advocacy

 

1. Sign the petition to Central African governments requesting they send immediate reinforcements to end the slaughter of Forest elephants in the World Heritage Site, Dzanga Bai.

2. Sign the Blood Ivory Campaign Petition

3. Sign the IFAW “Say No to Ivory” Petition

4. Sign the Elephant Charter

5. Sign the iworry petition. Go to “Get Involved” and fill in the petition blanks.

6. Write to your country’s Chinese Ambassador. The iworry campaign has directions or you can use these direct links: List of international Chinese Embassies. Here is a template letter from the iworry campaign that you can copy and paste or pull from to write your personal letter.   Please be respectful and professional as we are the voice for the elephants. Thank you!

7. Email the iworry campaign to participate in their International March Day. These will be peaceful demonstrations held at Chinese Embassies. Please find out more and express your interest at infouk@sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

8. Visit Elephant Campaigns for more petitions and letter writing campaigns on behalf of captive elephants, Asian elephants and African elephants.

9. Please, should you discover that you, your family or a friend owns ivory, burn it safely. Please don’t sell it, throw it away, or gift it. No amount of money, even with charitable intentions, is worth putting any amount of ivory back into the market. Learn more here.

Photo credit: Thank you as always to photographer Billy Dodson.

Please Share This Truth

 

 

 

Giving Yourself

 "When I give, I give myself.”

~Quote by Walt Whitman~

Many of us may notice and struggle with the thought, ‘I am not doing enough for the elephants’ or ‘I wish I could do more.’ With every devastating post and press release, we wish we had more to give, more we could do. We may feel angst when we think our efforts have no real impact or our donations are too small. There may even be times we think of giving up because the issues are too big, too complex and we feel so small.

 

Please remember that this is not only about signing petitions, writing letters, initiating campaigns and making donations. It is also about our intent. When we give and act from love for this amazing species, when we give because we long to secure their welfare and future, when we give because we want to offer ourselves and be part of their lives... then giving becomes more than an act or a dollar amount. Giving awakens our heart, the heart of those around us and inspires those we are giving to. We not only want to save elephants but awaken human consciousness to the vastness of who elephants are and humanity’s indelible connection to them. Our intent fosters and inspires this awakening in more ways than we can imagine.

Thank you for all you do, Elephant Advocacy

If you would like to know of the various ways you can help elephants please visit this page.

This beautiful image is by conservationist and photographer Michael North.

Sacred Pledge

Recently, Elephant Advocacy received an email from a conscientious animal lover. She had inherited a small antique statue and to her chagrin it was made of ivory (she confirmed this through an appraiser). She was seeking advice as how to best handle this statue that she was ashamed to have in her home. How could she honor the elephant that had been brutally killed for this senseless decorative ornament? She was considering selling it and giving 100% of the proceeds to an African elephant conservation charity. The appraisal was quite noteworthy.

We wanted to take this opportunity to share our advice and the advice of several highly esteemed ambassadors to the African elephant. We suggested that she burn the statue and make a sacred pledge to the African elephant by creating a small, safe funeral pyre. We explained that only by burning the ivory could she guarantee that it would not be circulated fueling the ivory market. No matter how small (jewelry) or large (statues) the object, ivory is selling for a great deal of money. By selling the antique statue, she would be putting it into the market [possibly having it sold many times over] and fostering blood money from blood ivory. Though she hesitated and preferred the idea of giving the money to a charity, we understand she did agree to burn the statue. She sent a follow-up email replying, “Thank you. The fire seemed to burn away the shame and I feel I have done absolutely the right thing. There will be no more profit, no more gain from the loss of this beautiful animal. Thank you again.”

 

Please, should you discover that you, your family or a friend owns ivory, burn it safely. Please don’t sell it, throw it away, or gift it. No amount of money, even with charitable intentions, is worth putting any amount of ivory back into the market. If you own or buy antiques, please seek advice as to whether they are made of ivory or contain engraved ivory. If they do, please safely burn the ivory. Please never, ever buy anything that contains ivory! In our small way, we can follow in the footsteps of Kenya and Gabon who nobly shunned profit and burned their ivory stockpiles.

Thank you!

~Elephant Advocacy~

This marvelous family is by conservationist and photographer Michael North. Please visit his web site and learn more about his imagery, workshops and photo safaris.