Please join the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and the Wildlife Conservation Society for a special screening and discussion of National Geographic’s “Battle for the Elephants”
When: Thursday, October 17, 2013, 4:00 pm (doors open at 3:30)
Where: Ira Allen Chapel, University of Vermont
Following the screening will be a panel discussion on solutions to stopping the ivory trade and decimation of elephant populations with:
- John Heminway, writer and director of this award-winning film
- Joshua Ginsberg, Senior Vice President of the Global Conservation Program of WCS
- Laura Neme, local author and international consultant on wildlife and natural resources
- Jame Deutsch, Executive Director of the Africa Program of
The issue of elephant poaching in Africa right now is at a record high, literally decimating the species. The number of elephants alive today is the smallest number ever recorded. An elephant is killed every 15 minutes for their tusks, with an estimated 36,000 being slaughtered each year. If the killing continues at the current level, elephants could be extinct in a decade. On September 26th, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a new global initiative to protect Africa’s wild elephants from poaching. This ecological crisis is also increasingly connected to global security crises through links between the ivory trade and militia/terrorist groups. Wildlife trafficking is one of the largest illegal trading activities in the world, after drugs and guns. According to Peter Seligmann, the CEO of Conservation International, “Poaching has become an enormous problem and one of the most profitable criminal activities there is. It’s destabilizing to nations, it’s a threat to security forces and it’s a serious loss for local economies that depend on wildlife.” (Time, Sep. 26)