Seattle joins over 125 cities worldwide in a march to raise international awareness of the effect that illegal poaching of ivory and horn is having on elephants and rhinos. As a result of increased demand for these illegal body parts, these iconic species are being massacred to the brink of extinction.

This march will also serve to request that each state and the federal government, as well as governments worldwide, publicly destroy their stockpiles of ivory to show zero tolerance for illegal wildlife trading. Advocates for conservation will converge on International Children’s Park in Seattle’s Chinatown for this march.

What: Global March for Elephants and Rhinos (GMFER)
When: Saturday, Oct. 4th at noon - 2pm
Where: International Children's Park. 700 S Lane St, Seattle, WA 98104.
Route map: http://www.espfund.org/programs/global-march-map/

Emcee for this event will be Cathy Sorbo, former Seattle PI columnist and acclaimed comedian.

Giving their full support to this global event, there will be an exciting and informative line up of speakers:
Tom Skerritt, Distinguished actor who is a passionate spokesperson for both wildlife and river conservation
Wendie Wendt, Executive Director of Big Life Foundation, one of the leading organizations in the fight to stop poaching.
Lisa Kane JD, a retired lawyer and author who has advocated for the welfare of captive and wild elephants locally, nationally and internationally.
The current situation is at a crisis point. According to experts, about 100 elephants are being slaughtered each day for their ivory tusks. At this rate, and if something is not done, elephants may be extinct in less than 10 years. Rhinos are being killed in such unprecedented numbers that experts fear that they will also become extinct in our lifetime.

Dr. Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, has given her support for the march saying, “We must join forces everywhere to stop the slaughter of elephants and rhinos. They feel pain, they know suffering. We must stop people from buying ivory.”

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