Campaign continues to gain momentum through social media

Join the Thunderclap to tell Antiques Roadshow to save elephants, not ivory: Thunderclap

NEW YORK (May 15, 2014) -- The following statement was issued by John Calvelli, WCS Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Director of the 96 Elephants Campaign:

“On April 30th,WCS’s 96 Elephants campaign launched an initiative asking the public to contact the PBS program Antiques Roadshow asking them to stop on-air appraisals of ivory. We believe that the appraisals send the wrong message to the public and are helping perpetuate a black market that is wiping out elephants at an unprecedented rate.

“The initiative included a fictional appraisal on YouTube that brought to light the many negative issues surrounding the ivory trade including the wholesale slaughter of elephants, murdering of park guards, organized crime, terrorism, and human rights abuses. We have since learned that Antiques Roadshow has removed two prominent ivory appraisals from their website – one showing an appraisal of a carved elephant tusk from Belgian Congo; the other showing a carved tusk from Burma.

“The public response to the campaign has been very strong with more than 34,000 actions taken so far, including more than 29,000 emails sent to WGBH, the show’s producer; along with more than 2,400 Tweets and re-Tweets on the issue including from celebrities Katie Lee of the Food Network (@KatieLeeKitchen) Jonathan Scott of Property Brothers (@MrSilverScott), and actress Kristin Davis (@KirstinDavis); and 2,100 shares on Facebook.

“We ask the public to keep up the pressure on this issue. But more needs to be done. We are asking the public to participate in a Thunderclap to Antiques Roadshow on May 19th.

We believe that Antiques Roadshow can show true leadership by doing the right thing and halting future ivory appraisals while the ivory crisis rages on. We look forward to opening a dialogue with them on how we can work together to protect elephants.”

CONTACT:
Stephen Sautner, 718-220-3682; ssautner@wcs.org
Max Pulsinelli, 718-220-5182; mpulsinelli@wcs.org
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. VISION: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: www.wcs.org; facebook.com/TheWCS; youtube.com/user/WCSMedia; follow: @theWCS.

96 Elephants
WCS is leading global efforts to save Africa’s elephants and end the current poaching and ivory trafficking crisis. In September, WCS launched its 96 Elephants campaign to amplify and support the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) “Partnership to Save Africa’s Elephants” by stopping the killing, stopping the trafficking, and stopping the demand. The WCS campaign focuses on: securing effective moratoria on sales of ivory; bolstering elephant protection; and educating the public about the link between ivory consumption and the elephant poaching crisis. 96elephants.org