Asian elephants are already endangered, with fewer than 50,000 left alive in the world. But that hasn’t stopped poachers in Myanmar from continuing to slaughter and peel the skin off these wild creatures — all just to make a buck. In one particularly nasty case, residents of one village discovered that poachers had dumped the corpses of more than two dozen mangled and rotting Asian elephants — adults and babies alike — in a riverbed, with their skin stripped from their bodies. Poachers wanted these animals’ flesh so it could be turned into red beads for jewelry and “medicines.”
Anti-poaching squads in Myanmar have worked hard to save elephants’ lives. But especially with their government currently in a state of terrifying upheaval, they need more help. That’s why we’re calling on the United Nations Environmental Programme to establish its own fund to support anti-poaching squads. With their assistance, we can protect the planet’s last remaining Asian elephants from being dismembered in grisly, horrific ways for the sake of grotesque jewelry and sham remedies. Please, sign the petition to urge the United Nations to do all they can to save Asian elephants and stop this cruel poaching!