Mardi Gras for Elephants and Rhinos – A celebration 4 Life!
Celebrate World Animal Day to Help Save the World’s Remaining Elephants and Rhinos
Elephanatics is hosting the third annual #GMFER Mardi Gras for Elephants & Rhinos – Saturday, September 24, 2016.
The poaching of elephants and rhinos has reached unprecedented heights in recent years as the demand for ivory and rhino horn has soared in China and other mainly Asian markets. An elephant is brutally killed every 15 minutes – 35,000 every year and less than 400,000 left. A rhino is poached every 11 hours – over 1,000 every year and less than 24,000 left.
Urgently raising awareness and taking immediate global action is the only way these species (and many others facing extinction) will survive. Last year over 50,000 people gathered in over 130 cities around the world to demand an end to the poaching crisis. Please join us in Vancouver for a Mardi Gras for Elephants & Rhinos – A Celebration 4 Life!
Many fun, family activities will take place, including a number of free activities:
• enjoy live music from local musicians
• get creative at the Mardi Gras Elephant Mask Craft Table
• spin the wheel to win Mardi Gras necklaces and other prizes
• encourage the kids to high-five a walking elephant mascot!
• treat the family to an elephant or rhino face painting
• write your own pro-elephant message on the Mardi Gras “Graffiti Wall” and take your photo standing beside a 2 metre high elephant image
• come in elephant costume for the Best Dressed Elephant Competition
• stand behind an oversized, photo frame while a professional photographer takes your photo and gives you the printed image
• update yourself at the Information Booth on how elephants are facing Africa’s poaching crisis and Asia’s tourist trade and what everyone can do to help
• show your elephant love at the Sales Booth with elephant-themed items, including T-shirts, toques and more
• power up with yummy food and snacks and refresh with a glass of Ellie-Aide
This year’s speakers include:
Patricia Sims – Filmmaker & Co-Founder of World Elephant Day
World Elephant Day is an annual global awareness campaign that brings attention to the critical threats facing elephants. Patricia also produced, directed and wrote two multi-award winning documentaries – Return to the Forest and When Elephants Were Young – both narrated by Canada’s own William Shatner. She has worked tirelessly as an animal advocate focusing on the plight of endangered elephants through digital media and films.
Paul Blackthorne – English Actor for Film, Television and Radio
Paul is well known for his lead character roles of “Harry Dresden” in The Dresden Files and “Quentin Lance” in Arrow, which is filmed in Vancouver, BC. Over the past three years he has collaborated with conservation organizations to raise awareness about the poaching crisis facing elephants and rhino. He ran two successful t-shirt campaigns – “Keep Rhinos Horny” and “Poach Eggs Not Elephants”.
Mike Farnworth – NDP MLA for Port Coquitlam
Mike serves as Opposition Spokesperson for Justice (Public Safety and Solicitor General). He is adamantly fighting a loophole allowing illegal rhino horn to be mixed and sold with legal horn that can be proven to be obtained before 1975. He recently tabled a private member’s bill at the legislature to outlaw the sale of ivory and rhino horn.
On September 24, the same day as our #GMFER Mardi Gras for Elephants & Rhino, the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP17) will begin in Johannesburg, South Africa. Vital decisions on elephants, rhinos and lions are to be made by 181 members of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Our objectives are to halt all trade of ivory and horn and to get governments to change their laws to protect the wild animals facing extinction in the next 10 years.
Here is a short informational video about the ivory trade:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfooocokOr4&list=UULXXG0683FswkRlXk4CTjFQ
Tweet us on Twitter: @ElephanaticsBC and @EleRhinoMarch and#GMFER2016
See us on Instagram: VanCity_GlobalMarchElephants and #GMFER2016
Visit us on the Web: www.elephanatics.org andwww.march4elephantsandrhinos.org
- Contact Name: Fran
- Contact Number: 604 897 7614
- Contact Email: fdbirdie@gmail.com
- Location: Surrey
- Organised by: Fran Duthie