WCS Praises California Assembly for Passing Ivory Ba

AB 96 Passes with 62 ayes, 14 nays and 4 no votes

Bill now goes to California Senate

Key to stopping elephant slaughter is to stop sale of ivory

California poised to play a direct role in saving elephants

NEW YORK (June 2, 2015) – The Following statement is from John Calvelli, WCS Executive Vice President for Public Affairs and Director of the 96 Elephants Campaign:

“WCS [Wildlife Conservation Society] and the 96 Elephants campaign praise the California Assembly for passing AB 96, state legislation that would ban the sale of ivory and rhinoceros horn in the state of California. We commend Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins for introducing and ushering this legislation through the Assembly. The bill now goes to the California Senate.

“California is a major ivory market in the U.S., and the Assembly has shown real leadership by taking on this issue. The goal of 96 Elephants – named after the number of elephants gunned down each day in Africa by poachers – is to stop the killing, stop the trafficking and stop the demand. Banning the sale of ivory is a key step toward stopping the demand, and California is poised to play a direct role in saving elephants from the ravages of the illegal wildlife trade.”

“WCS and 96 Elephants urge continued support of AB 96, and we look forward to working with the bill’s co-author Senator Ricardo Lara to ensure its swift passage by the California Senate, then on to Governor Brown whom we urge to sign AB 96 into law.  A special thanks to our fellow bill sponsors Humane Society of the United States, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oakland Zoo and the California Association of Zoos and Aquariums and its dedicated members for their hard work in supporting Assembly passage of AB 96.”

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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; http://www.facebook.com/TheWCS; http://www.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 2013, WCS launched its 96 Elephants campaign to bring together world citizens, partners, thought leaders, and change makers to leverage collective influence to stop the killing, stop the trafficking, and stop the demand. The campaign, which has partners from around the world including 125 U.S. zoos, 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. www.96elephants.org