It’s estimated that there were 1.2 million elephants in Africa in 1980. Now there are only about 430,000. Tragically, one of the world’s largest and most famous elephants, Satao, was recently killed by poachers.
To help end the worst poaching crisis in history, Martin Guitar and The Nature Conservancy launched a partnership today to ramp up efforts in Africa and China through #SaveElephants, a campaign to increase resources for elephant protection, add to growing global pressure on leaders, and provide concerned individuals simple actions to help elephants.
Martin Guitar has been creating the finest instruments in the world for over 180 years, and is a leading acoustic instrument maker. Martin has been concerned about the poaching of African elephants since the 1970s when it made the choice to start phasing out elephant ivory on its instruments, replacing it with a synthetic material.
“Forty-five years ago we phased out the use of ivory. And yet today I’m still concerned about the horrible slaughter of elephants. This is a terrible shame and it should stop,” said Chris Martin IV, Chairman and CEO, Martin Guitar."
Martin Guitar asked music artists to lend their support. Elephant Ambassadors will help spread awareness and participate in a range of programs, including guitars autographed by award-winning artists Dierks Bentley, Tom Johnston of The Doobie Brothers, Colbie Caillat, and Neko Case. Other Elephant Ambassadors include: Greg Bates, Danny Davis, Dirty Guv’nahs, Donavon Frankenreiter, Jason Isbell, LP, Mac Powell, Jack Mitrani, John Oates, Chuck Ragan, Amanda Shires, and James Valentine of Maroon 5.
This effort isn’t just for rock stars. People who want to save elephants can visit the IndieGoGo page and help fund The Nature Conservancy’s African Elephant Initiative. When you donate, you earn perk points to receive one-of-a-kind prizes including a specially designed Martin Guitar that features Satao’s name, an elephant tracks inlay, and other accents that celebrate these extraordinary animals.
“Martin Guitar is lending their star power to help end this crisis and the awareness they raise for the issue will make a real difference,” said David Banks, Managing Director, Africa Program, The Nature Conservancy.
