Dear Next President,

There are many crucial issues in the world that we think are worth looking into, but there is one that really caught our attention, elephants are a victim of extinction because of people currently poaching them for their ivory tusks to trade and make jewelry out of. To begin with, we believe that you need to educate people everywhere about why elephants are important and how they impact our ecosystems, and why a law needs to be put down that declares you can’t poach elephants and that ivory can’t be imported or exported anywhere. This horrible act of killing and, greed will lead to elephant extinction.

Poaching elephants for ivory is an issue because if this abhorrent action continues it will lead to the species extinction and we will need to do a lot more work.If elephants become extinct this will lead to issues for everyone because elephants are a big part of our environment. According to “soselepants.org”, “They dig waterholes in dry river beds that other animals can use as a water source, and their footprints create deep holes that water can collect in. They create trails that act as fire breakers and water run offs. Other animals, including humans, depend on the openings elephants create in the forest and brush and in the waterholes they dig.” If we did not have elephants as our natural worker's humans will need to be hired to complete these acts and it will take a lot more work for us to dig water holes, break down trees, and creating trails in the forest and more! Things could also get out of hand and humans could deforest so much land and destroy several animals’ habitats. Elephants, whether you know it or not, create a balance in our ecosystems, which we need. We must take a stand on this action so this won’t become a severe problem for us.

Poaching elephants for ivory creates the issue of elephant populations decreasing. These populations of elephants all over the world are getting dangerously low, that in a decade or two these creatures will become extinct. A law must be put down. According to the article “Permitting Trade In Ivory Will Harm Elephants” by Laura K. Egendorf “Between January 1, 2000, and May 21, 2002, more than 5.9 tonnes of ivory, 2,542 tusks, and 14,648 pieces of ivory have been seized worldwide— representing more than 2,000 dead elephants.” This quote provides evidence that over the year 2001 there were thousands of elephants killed worldwide. In 2015, 35,000 elephants were killed in that one year according to International Business! This means that in a few decades if elephant populations keep dropping at these rates, this beloved species will become one of the many victims of extinction. If this continues the African elephant is “doomed for extinction in 15- 20 years…”, according to “soselephants.org”. We have to stop elephant poaching before time runs out and it’s too late.

But even with all of these problems, other people want to surpass a law that allows elephant poaching because they make their living off of ivory trade. In the article “Permitting Trade In Ivory Will Harm Elephants” by Laura K. Egendorf, she reports that “five nations are requesting permission to sell off their stockpiled ivory.” They want to do this to make additional money for themselves. As Egendorf reports,”They want to export a total of 87 metric tons of ivory at first, representing about 11,000 dead elephants. In addition, they want to export an additional 13 metric tons annually, equaling an additional 1,500 dead elephants each year.”. This quote provides evidence that poachers want to continue selling ivory because it is very valuable. They don’t support a ban on it because it helps themselves. Many people want to be able to kill elephants freely, not knowing the possible outcomes and effects.

Although many people think elephant poaching for ivory should be allowed, they are wrong because this action will lead to a species extinction. Things will get worse if this law is passed. In accordance to the article “Permitting Trade in Ivory Will Harm Elephants”, Dr. Teresa Telecky states, “If the proposals are approved, it will make an already bad situation worse by confusing consumers as to the legality of ivory and by feeding the demand for ivory… allowing any international trade, even on a one-time basis, has disastrous results for elephants”. If some ivory trade is allowed, the demand of ivory could potentially grow alongside the number of decreasing elephant populations. The world should not be trying to kill off a species by allowing a law that will do so. They are only increasing the severity of the problem. People that support elephant poaching might not recognize the fact that they’re killing off an important species.

The horrific action of elephant poaching needs to be put to a stop immediately. The longer we wait, the worse this problem will become. You need to educate everyone about why elephants are important and what will happen if elephant poaching continues. A law should also be put down everywhere. If elephant poaching continues, it will lead to problems because elephants could become extinct. They impact our environment so much along with other animals, that this action is also making elephant populations decrease. Could you imagine your child or grandchild not knowing what one of the biggest and most important species left on Earth was? We thank you for your time and hope you take action on this problem immediately.

With great admiration and respect,

Rachel S. and Isabelle C.