It is hard to believe that on World Wildlife Day, 3 March, it will be 3 years since we hosted #MelbourneCrush in central Melbourne, Australia’s first ivory and rhino horn crush event, to demonstrate that the only value ivory and rhino horn has is on a living animal.
A massive thank you to those of you who attended the crush, knowing the years of work in achieving this ban, announced by Environment Minister Sussan Ley in August 2019. And of course the people who have helped in the process along the way.
So what are the States and Territories waiting for? Australia is complicit in the current poaching crisis whilst we allow the domestic trade to continue.
I’m in the process of sending the following letter to MPs and Minsters and I welcome you to do so too (even if you’ve sent them an email recently, please keep the pressure on).
Don’t let our work go to waste.
During the 2018 Parliamentary Inquiry, then Lisa Singh – Former Senator grilled social media platforms for allowing ivory and rhino horn to be sold online. They assured her that they were working to ensure animal body parts were banned.
Please use any of the pics (or email me for more) and email Environment Minister Sussan Ley as well as your local MP and your State or Territory Environment Minister.
Environment Minister Sussan Ley – sussan.ley@aph.gov.au
VIC – Lily D’Ambrosio MP
lily.dambrosio@parliament.vic.gov.au
NSW –Matt Kean MP
office@kean.minister.nsw.gov.au
SA – David Speirs MP
minister.speirs@sa.gov.au
QLD – Meaghan Scanlon – Member for Gaven
environment@ministerial.qld.gov.au
NT – Eva Lawler MLA: Member for Drysdale
minister.lawler@nt.gov.au
WA – Stephen Dawson MLC
Minister.Dawson@dpc.wa.gov.au
TAS – Roger Jaensch MP
minister.jaensch@dpac.tas.gov.au
Dear Minister
It has been three years since For the Love of Wildlife Ltd hosted Australia’s first ivory and rhino horn crush event in Melbourne to demonstrate that Australia is complicit in the current poaching crisis whilst it allows the rampant, unregulated, domestic trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn.
The #MelbourneCrush event, with enormous celebrity support, highlighted how many Australians want the trade in ivory and rhino horn banned (most thought it had already been done), giving an opportunity for people who had items (inherited, gifted or purchased) to be able to demonstrate that the only value is on a living animal.
This event triggered a Parliamentary Inquiry to which we gave evidence, the final report recommending a full trade ban. In 2019, Australia (as a signatory) announced at CITES CoP 18 in Geneva that it would join other countries in closing the domestic trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn.
Given the time since the announcement, the trade is again reinvigorated with three posts (items of significant value) just in the last few weeks on Gumtree alone. Online trading platforms have stated they will stem the trade in wildlife products, yet despite contacting Gumtree there has been no response.
We are in a global extinction crisis and our inability to act swiftly does mean that traders are taking advantage of whatever opportunities are available.
I ask that you please elevate the urgency in implementing this trade ban so that we can fulfil our global obligations in preserving our most precious wildlife.
Please consider what you will tell your children when there are no elephants and rhinos? If we don’t stop the trade now, they will be gone within the next decade. The UK are now including a ban on a host of ivory including mammoth, whilst we haven’t moved in enacting the domestic trade ban.
I very much look forward to hearing how this can be enacted with a timeline for implementation.
If there’s anything further you require, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Donalea Patman OAM
Founding Director
A short video of one of our investigations