Calling for “urgent action” in the fight to save elephants, President Obama has promised that his administration “won’t let up” on efforts to prevent the extinction of this majestic species.

The President stated his commitment to ending poaching and the ivory trade in an interview with HSUS last Thursday, World Wildlife Day. On the same day, his administration released the first annual progress report of its wildlife trafficking task force. The report shows measured progress in the fight against wildlife crime, including more than 20 convictions for rhino horn and ivory smuggling.

Despite improvements over the past year, elephants still face an unsustainable threat from poaching. Data released last week shows that more African elephants are being killed for ivory than are being born.

We agree with Obama’s assessment that the extinction of elephants from our planet would be “an unpardonable loss for humanity and the natural world”—and we applaud his efforts to prevent it.

Read more about Obama’s call for action here.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/03/obama-urgent-action-needed-save-elephants-extinct

Review the 2015 progress report from Obama’s wildlife trafficking task force here.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/254013.pdf