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.
Putting an end to habitat loss may be next to impossible as more and more people vie for fewer and fewer resources and move out further into the countryside, so conservationists working to save elephants tend to concentrate on reducing or eliminating poaching. While trophy hunting of elephants may have been big decades ago, today most elephant hunters are after the ivory in the tusks, which have been a hot commodity across Asia for years as raw material for highly prized and often ornate carvings. Despite elephants’ inclusion in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1990—meaning the sale of tusks and other elephant parts is a violation of international law—poaching is bigger business than ever, with prices for ivory rising more than 16-fold in recent years.
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.
It is up to you, the consumer to check with these companies and continue to read labels.
Please note, shearling is not covered by this list. Use our list as a guide, but always double-check any fur-trimmed product before buying it.
Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister Co.
Aéropostale
American Apparel
American Eagle Outfitters
aerie f.i.t.
Martin + Osa
Ann Taylor
Anthropologie
Apple Bottoms by Nelly
Ashley Paige
Ashley
Bahar Shahpar
BCBG Max Azria
AZRIA
Max Azria Atelier
Hervé Léger Couture
Hervé Léger by Max Azria
BCBGenerations
