Dear Simon,
Elephant populations are facing a poaching crisis. On average, an elephant is killed every 15 minutes for its ivory. Also the rate at which elephants are being killed is alarming. It is estimated that at least 25,000 elephants and as many as 50,000 are slaughtered each year for their ivory.
The international community finally seems to have taken notice. The UK is taking the lead by hosting an international summit in London on illegal wildlife trade to talk about issues affecting elephants, tigers, rhinos and other animals. It is being hosted on February 13 by the UK Government, HRH Prince Charles and the Duke of Cambridge, and senior officials from over 50 countries have been invited to attend, so this is an unprecedented opportunity to influence world leaders to act to protect wildlife.
To maximise attention at this key time when all eyes will be on London, IFAW is launching an ivory surrender today to help raise awareness of this cruel trade. You may have also seen this in the Mirror newspaper or The Independent newspaper. By donating unwanted ivory items, you will be making a positive contribution to help protect elephants.
Following the destruction of ivory in the U.S. and China, which gained widespread media attention, IFAW plans to add to this growing momentum by organising an eye-catching destruction of ivory to show that it should be put beyond use. The event will be hosted at a central London location prior to the summit. MPs and celebrities will be invited to attend.
We believe that holding an ivory crush event ahead of the London summit will send a strong symbolic message of public support for the UK Government's firm stance against illegal wildlife trade and its efforts to further protect elephants from the illegal ivory trade. With your help, we can make this happen.
So please help us by sending in any unwanted ivory items as soon as possible, so they can be included in our ivory crush. If you do not own any ivory, please tell friends, family and colleagues, as they may have ivory at home that they wish to donate or know someone else who does.
If you would like to donate your ivory, please post it to:
Campaigns Department
International Fund for Animal Welfare
87-90 Albert Embankment
London, SE1 7UD
If you have any queries or have a large item to donate, please email info-uk@ifaw.org or call 0207 587 6700. For more information about IFAW's work, please visit our website.
Thank you for your support for elephants.
 |  Robbie Marsland
IFAW UK Director | |
