EMERGENCY: Trump administration takes aim at endangered elephants

Dear folks, The Trump administration’s atrocities against wildlife just won't stop. You may have seen news that broke yesterday about the administration’s decision to overturn a ban on elephant trophy imports. This comes on the heels of Interior Secretary Zinke’s creation of a so-called "International Wildlife Conservation Council" – which so far appears dedicated to promoting the international hunting of animals. For a "wildlife conservation council", it certainly sounds like they will be doing more shooting and stuffing than contributing to conservation. All of this is happening while the administration is steadfastly refusing to even call meetings of advisory councils that help prevent wildlife trafficking. Please help us continue to fight against the Trump administration's reckless agenda with a gift to our Defend America's Wildlife campaign and your gift will be tripled today. - Jamie Dear folks, In all my career – in all my life – this is the first time I have truly feared for the future of wildlife. We knew the Trump administration and an anti-wildlife Congress would be dangerous for wildlife, but nothing could have prepared us for the full-scale assault that we’ve witnessed this year. We need your urgent support to keep up the fight for wildlife facing unprecedented attacks. That is why we are launching our Defend America’s Wildlife campaign – because the battle ahead will continue to take everything we’ve got to protect and defend our nation’s cherished and imperiled wildlife. And because our work has never been so critical to wildlife, our Board of Directors and President's Circle have authorized an emergency Triple Match Challenge, where your contribution will be matched 2-for-1, up to a total of $150,000. Please, TRIPLE your impact today! Wildlife can’t lobby on Capitol Hill or call their representatives. Their lives – and the future of entire species – are at the mercy of people and the decisions being made right now. That’s why – together – we must speak on their behalf. In just one year of this administration and this anti-wildlife Congress, we’ve had to fight against: More than 60 assaults to strip, undermine or otherwise gut the Endangered Species Act; A proposed border wall that would cut through wildlife refuges and sever important wildlife corridors for species like the endangered ocelot, jaguar and Mexican gray wolf; An all-out attack on our public lands and wildlife habitat including calls to reduce and rescind habitat protections and sell out and sell off our wildlife refuges and national monuments; The administration’s call to reopen offshore drilling in the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans; and A massive push – by both the administration and Congress – to drill in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the last intact and most sensitive ecosystems in the world. As terrible as this list sounds, it barely scratches the surface of the threats this administration and Congress have leveled against wildlife. Wildlife needs a champion in these unprecedented and uncertain times. Will you make an emergency donation today to help Defenders continue to be the premier advocate for wildlife? Your gift will help build the foundation for our work in the next year – and for years to come – as we continue the fight for imperiled wildlife. Our skilled team of conservation lawyers, policy experts and scientists are working diligently on behalf of wildlife. But we need your support now. Give today and your gift will be matched 2-for-1, up to a total of $150,000. Please pledge your support now to Defend America’s Wildlife. Thank you in advance for your support, Jamie Rappaport Clark President, Defenders of Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife leads the pack when it comes to protecting wild animals and plants in their natural communities >> Defenders of Wildlife | 1130 17th St NW, Washington, DC 20036 | defenders.org Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. Photo credit: Polar Bears (c) Debbie Tubridy/TNWA Photography © Copyright 2017 Defenders of Wildlife