Massachusetts Ivory Ban Bill – Help us Protect Africa’s Wildlife

Written by Thomson Safaris

 

Tomorrow in the Boston State House, the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture holds a hearing on Bill S.450, An Act Relative to Ivory and Rhino Horn Trafficking.

The hearing will be held in the B-1 Hearing Room at 24 Beacon Street and will start at 1:00 P.M.

Thomson Safaris encourages people in Massachusetts who are passionate about protecting Africa’s elephants and rhinos to attend.

Poaching is a catastrophic problem in Africa. The demand for ivory is its driving force. Surveys by the National Geographic Society and GlobeScan conclude the United States’ market demand for ivory is among the top 5 in the world.

Bill S.450 states, “no person shall sell, offer for sale, purchase, or possess with intent to sell, any ivory or rhinoceros horn…”

It creates exceptions for:

  • Ivory on musical instruments that was obtained through legal channels
  •  Ivory that is a fixed component on an antique, granted the antique can be verified and is certifiably over 100 years old
  •  Ivory used by educational and scientific institutions.

Despite these exceptions, the National Rifle Association is lobbying in opposition of the bill, endangering wildlife under the pretense it would not address poaching.

The NRA is wrong.

The African Wildlife Foundation, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, The Humane Society of the United States, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Save Animals Facing Extinction, the United States Wildlife Tracking Alliance, WildAid, and the Wildlife Conservation Society are just a few organizations that have supported these efforts in the past.

We strongly encourage you to support them and Bill S.450 as well. If you cannot attend the hearing, please call a member of the House Judiciary Committee to voice your support.

 

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