Thank you so much for taking the time to read this short and simple petition, which has a very achievable and easy goal, which I will come onto shortly.  

As you will already know, this petition centres around the conservation of our magnificent gentle giants with whom we share this planet. The noble and majestic Elephant.  A beautiful and intelligent creature which may very possibly be extinct in our lifetimes. This means our children may never know a real live Elephant. 

This is not hundreds of years in the future, this is now.  

The insatiable demand for ivory is causing a dramatic decline in the number of African elephants. Poachers are hunting the animal faster than it can reproduce, with deaths affecting more than half of elephant families in the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya, a new study finds.  In 2011, the worst African elephant poaching year on record since 1998, poachers killed an estimated 40,000 elephants, or about 8 percent of the elephant population in Africa.  This is unsustainable.

A single species' disappearance can, in fact, make a huge difference on a global scale. Like pieces of yarn in a woven tapestry, the removal of one can start unravelling the whole system.  The balance and biodiversity of our planet is a delicate and magical existence that is being chipped away daily by the ignorance and greed of the animal sitting at the top of the food chain.  We are not only decimating these wonderful animals, we are threatening our own existence. Once these gentle giants are gone, there is no turning back. 

The Original petition

There are many fantastic global initiatives to help cease the murdering of many of our endangered species, however this petition is coming at the problem from the consumer angle.    In 1937, the American National Retail Jeweler Association (now known as Jewelers of America as a result of an organizational merger) introduced an expanded list of gifts for wedding anniversaries which has now become tradition in many parts of the world.  Number 14 on this list is Ivory.

A small step in curbing the appetite for Ivory would be for the company that started the list to  publicly remove the reference to Ivory from this list completely and make statements in the media that they categorically disagree with the Ivory trade.  This would then filter down and all references to Ivory on all online lists can be removed and replaced with something more appropriate.  Simple economics dictates if no one buys a product, there is no point in selling it.

The Updated petition

Partial Success!  After a response and continued communication with the JoA, it was confirmed they had no attachment to the gift list anymore and therefore had no ownership over it whatsoever.  As a result, we were able to update the Wikipedia page to now list 'Flowers' as Number 14 in the gift list, which is a lovely and ethical choice and huge step in the right direction. 

As this is more of a tradition than something that is a regulation or rule, the challenge now is to sweep through the internet and work with all online sources of this gift list and have them update their websites to reflect the fact that Ivory is no longer on the Wikipedia page, which many of them base their lists on.  Each site should now list flowers to keep the emphasis going and encourage other sites to follow suit and maintain the consistency.  I'm currently in discussions with Hallmark, who, have already removed the ivory reference on the back of this petition (Hurrah!) but have replaced it with an animal as the gift (Baffling, I know - equally unethical!).  I'm trying to get them to add flowers as well which will be a massive encouragement for others to follow suit.

We're moving in the right direction!  This is a very small and achievable request, but the action could have significant ripples across the marketplace. Why not give some flowers for your fourteenth year of wedded bliss, or do something marvellous and adopt an animal.

Please, please do your part and sign this petition to demand that Ivory is removed from all online gift lists.  After all, nothing says I love you like dead animal carcass right?

These beautiful animals have no voice.  We can be that voice. Please help us. More heart-breaking information can be found here: http://savetheelephants.org/