By Elizabeth Willoughby on
A well-known name in humanitarianism, environmentalism, conservation and advocacy through her Institute, Jane Goodall is now venturing into social media to create a movement to stop the trafficking of wildlife.
Planning to meet with influential conservation leaders this year, Goodall wants to go armed with the support of the international community in the form of social media messages reinstating that the stopping of wildlife trafficking is a priority.
The estimates she sites of the violations on protected species are startling:
• 35,000 elephants a year are killed for ivory
• poaching of rhinos went up 9,000% from 2007 to 2014
• 73 million sharks are killed each year for their fins
• a 2014 survey shows only 3,200 wild tigers left in Asia
• 3,000 great apes are illegally killed or stolen from the wild each year
Goodall sees platforms such as Facebook and Instagram as powerful tools. “By using them for good,” she says, “we can help connect and organize, adding further pressure and momentum to let our networks, policy makers, change-making groups and the rest of the world hear our collective message.”
With its potential to reach millions around the world, Goodall hopes to inspire people to demand and effect change.
“When you join us,” she says, “we can build a movement through social media to stop wildlife trafficking together. By acting together on social media, we can stand up for what we believe in, protecting our beautiful and endangered wildlife from being hunted for trophies and other ‘parts’ to be sold and auctioned off. Post it. Gram it. Stop wildlife trafficking in its tracks.”
Click here to see Jane Goodall’s petition and to share on social media.
Copyright © 2016 Look to the Stars
