Over 400 tons of ivory from 85 countries have been seized since the 1989 ban on ivory trade and during that time the number of elephants in the wild has declined by 50 per cent bringing this fine animal to near extinction.
As part of the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s Animal Action campaign – “Elephants Never Forget” – the fund has managed to snag actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio as their Global Ambassador.
Even though there is a ban on ivory it hasn’t stopped the trade of the elephant tusks and DiCaprio feels that education on this issue is one of the most important ways to fight this illegal trade and that “most people still have no idea that elephants are killed for their ivory tusks”.
This ambassadorship isn’t just being centered around the elephant but will be a multi-year arrangement with a new animal selected each year.
