Press Releases
Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today issued the following statement after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a near-total ban on the domestic commercial trade of African elephant ivory:
“Poaching of African elephants—driven by consumer greed for ivory products—has pushed this species to the brink of global extinction. I applaud Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to help protect these majestic creatures by closing loopholes that made it hard to crackdown on illegal ivory trafficking, here in the United States.
“Poaching of African elephants—driven by consumer greed for ivory products—has pushed this species to the brink of global extinction. I applaud Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to help protect these majestic creatures by closing loopholes that made it hard to crackdown on illegal ivory trafficking, here in the United States.
“Estimates suggest that poachers kill as many as 30,000 elephants each year. Since 2010, poaching has outpaced the natural reproductive rates of elephants, pushing them to the brink of extinction.
“To save these endangered animals for future generations, we must stop the trade of their ivory tusks. Strengthening the ban on the import and sale of ivory products here in the United States does that and hopefully encourages other countries to take similar steps to protect African elephants.”
###
