IFAW: Twiggy and Julie Walters call on public to surrender their ivory and protect elephants
Celebrity animal lovers Twiggy and Julie Walters are backing the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Ivory Surrender which launches tomorrow (Wed), encouraging the public to donate unwanted ivory to highlight the illegal ivory trade and protect elephants.
Twiggy said: “I’m proud to support IFAW’s ivory surrender. Ivory trade kills and every piece of ivory represents a dead elephant. Please give up your ivory for elephants.”
Julie Walters is also backing the campaign and said: “It is sad to know that elephants are still being killed for ivory in this, the 21st Century. I am supporting IFAW’s ivory surrender and encouraging people to give up their ivory to help protect elephants.
Shockingly, new Ipsos MORI polling shows that more than four in 10 British adults are unaware that elephants have to die before their ivory can be obtained, while almost four million British residents are owners of ivory.
Robbie Marsland, Director of IFAW UK, said: “We are holding a UK-wide ivory surrender to help raise awareness of the threats facing elephants and to encourage the UK Government to push its pledge to press for a ban on ivory sales internationally. By donating ivory items, people can be sure this ivory will not end up on the market again or have a commercial value, thereby making a positive contribution to elephant protection.”
The global illegal trade in wildlife is estimated to be worth £12 billion annually, second only to the illicit trade in drugs and arms. Ivory forms a significant part of this and seizures of illegal ivory are skyrocketing following recent stockpile sales to Japan and China which sent a signal to poachers that it is open season on elephants.
IFAW’s ivory surrender is being supported by police forces across the country as well as the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the Association of Chief Police Officers, who are battling to tackle the illegal ivory trade.
Sergeant Ian Knox, Head of the Metropolitan Police’s Wildlife Crime Unit, said: “The Metropolitan Police Force welcomes IFAW’s Ivory Surrender as it highlights the existence of a damaging and illegal trade. There is still a huge demand for ivory that the illegal trade seeks to satisfy; a significant amount is generated in London and the UK. It must be stopped.”
Anyone who would like to donate ivory to the surrender can email ivory@ifaw.org or call 020 7587 6709.
Ends
Notes to Editors – For more information or interviews contact IFAW:
Tania McCrae-Steele, 020 7587 6709 or mobile 07801 613520, email tmccrea@ifaw.org
or
Kevin Flack, 020 7587 6710 or mobile 07769 657291 or email flackk@ifaw.org
More information can be found at www.ifaw.org
Photographs of Twiggy and Julie Walters are available on request.
About IFAW – With offices in 15 countries, IFAW saves animals in crisis around the world. We rescue and provide veterinary care to individual animals and advocate for the protection of entire populations. For more information visit our website www.ifaw.org
Technical note
Ipsos MORI interviewed a nationally representative quota sample of 2,023 adults in GB aged 15+. Interviews were carried out face-to-face, in home, using CAPI (Computer Aided Personal Interviewing Laptops), as part of the Ipsos MORI Omnibus (Capibus). Fieldwork was conducted from 11-17 March 2011. The results have been weighted to reflect the known profile of the adult GB population. They are weighted on age, social grade, region and work status-within gender. The data are also weighted on housing tenure and ethnicity.
For Ipsos MORI please contact Bob Worcester on 020 7347 3000
Using ONS 2009 mid-year estimates, the GB population aged 15+ is 49,564,800. A total of 8% say they own items made of ivory, equating to nearly 4 million people. Based on a confidence interval of approx +/- 1.3% and the sample size of 2,023 the actual number could vary between c3.3 and 4.6 million adults aged 15+.
