ANIMAL ISSUES AND INITIATIVES
Are elephant populations stable these days?
Written by Earth Talk
Illegal hunting (primarily to obtain ivory) and habitat loss have combined to cause dramatic declines in the numbers of both African and Asian elephants. In 1930, there were between five and 10 million wild African elephants, plying the entire African continent in large bands. Today that number is likely less than 500,000.
While Asian elephants were never as numerous as their African counterparts, their population numbers have also dropped precipitously, from an estimated 200,000 a century ago to less than 40,000 today. Conservationists fear that unless demand dries up for ivory, and people stop moving into prime elephant habitat, the world’s largest land mammal could become just a memory within another hundred years.
ANIMAL ISSUES AND INITIATIVES: Are elephant populations stable these days?
Designers go Fur Free
More and more retailers and designers are rejecting cruelty and potential consumer deception by adopting fur-free policies. Listed here are those who’ve announced that they don’t sell animal fur or are phasing in this policy. Be sure to check the current status of the companies listed above—in order to confirm that they are, or will be phasing in a fur-free policy. Some fur garments bearing the name of listed brands or designers who have recently gone fur-free may continue to be available in discount and overstock stores and on online auction sites.
