Satao – the enigma

June 3, 2015 / Ivory Free Ohio - IFOH / Leave a comment

Remembering Satao

Alive, Satao was almost unknown; dead, he became legend.

How did it happen?

A year ago, Satao fell to a poacher’s poisoned arrow in a remote corner of Tsavo East National Park. When news of his death became known early in June 2014, it circled the globe at a speed any publicity agent would have been proud of. The international press, from Le Monde to The New York Times carried news of his death. It generated millions of tweets and Facebook page reads. There were YouTube tributes, news reports, articles, blog posts… two online petitions signed by 180,000 called for presidential protection for the remaining Tsavo tuskers. A week later, a tribute released on YouTube by the Great Elephant Census – created from the last footage we filmed of Satao, was seen by 135,000. ( http://youtu.be/KjDH_QZd0ok ) News of his death went viral in a way normally reserved only for…

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“AB 96” Passes California Assembly, Awaits Senate

June 3, 2015June 7, 2015 / Ivory Free Ohio - IFOH / Leave a comment

Via @WildAid.org

Update, Tuesday, June 2. Good news! AB 96, the bill to close ivory trade loopholes in California, has passed overwhelmingly and on a bipartisan basis in the state assembly. The 62-14 vote (with four abstentions) is a big win for Speaker Toni G. Atkins’ bill in the 80-member assembly. The state senate will now take up the legislation; we will keep you posted on upcoming hearings.

“California is a top market for ivory with illegal sales of ivory estimated to have doubled over the past eight years,” said Speaker Atkins (D-San Diego) in a statement released shortly after the vote. “Today we closed a loophole that had kept California a leading market in the sale of illegal ivory. By passing AB 96, we make it harder for illegal sellers to hide and we better protect elephants and rhinos from senseless slaughter and extinction.”

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Petition to Outlaw Ivory and Rhino Horn Products in Ohio

June 1, 2015December 18, 2015 / Ivory Free Ohio - IFOH / 6 Comments

Black Rhinoceros (Diceros Bicornis) and African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) Africa. Photo Credit; WWF

Photo Courtesy of WWF

A Call to Action Outlawing Ivory and Rhino Horn in the State of Ohio

The purpose of this petition is to enact legislation banning the import, in-state, and Internet sale and distribution of raw and worked ivory and Rhinoceros horn products in the state of Ohio.

In 2014, President Barack Obama issued an executive order banning the import and export of ivory, yet the United States remains the largest consumer after China as the order fails to include; the import, in-state, Internet, and diplomatic loopholes. (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2014)

Trafficking of illegal ivory is a transnational organized crime run by terrorists and radicalists whom threaten our national security, our wildlife, and our people. (IFAW, 2013) “There is no legislation in Ohio and this is what I am working to change.”

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Salute to the Eco-warrior; Jim Justus Nyamu

April 25, 2015April 26, 2015 / Ivory Free Ohio - IFOH / Leave a comment

International March for Elephants, Washington, D.C. Photo Credit; Christina LaMonica Imagery

By; Oyunga Pala

I saw Facebook post of a worn out sole of a sports shoe. The page belonged to outstanding wildlife activist, Jim Justus Nyamu. The post read, “This particular pair of shoe covered 900km or so and now in the store out of race”.

Ever since he started walking to raise awareness 2 years ago, Jim Nyamu has covered over 3000 miles educating the masses on the crisis of Elephant poaching for ivory.

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