The passage of the
UK Ivory Act was crucial for protecting elephants from poaching. But now that there is a near-total ban on elephant ivory worldwide - an amazing victory for conservationists - the bill has had some negative consequences. Since elephant ivory is now illegal to trade, poachers are turning to
hippo teeth.Sign now to demand the UK Parliament bolster the UK Ivory Act by also banning the trade of hippo teeth!Elephants are very endangered, and estimates suggest only 40,000-50,000 remain in the wild. This is why the UK Ivory Act was so necessary and so long overdue. Elephant populations have seen sharp and scary declines in the past hundred years, so a formal, near-total ban on elephant ivory was desperately needed to curb poaching. But as a result, demand for hippo teeth has skyrocketed.
Experts fear that this shift in demand from ivory to hippo teeth has the potential to devastate wild hippo populations. And hippos are already listed as "vulnerable to extinction" because of both poaching and habitat loss. The UK Parliament must act immediately to protect hippos from poachers as well!
Sign now to tell the UK Parliament: bolster the UK Ivory Act by banning the trade of hippo teeth, too! We must protect all animals vulnerable to poaching!