Abu Dhabi: Carroll Miles, an Abu Dhabi resident, will attend a global event on Eid Al Adha on Saturday to save elephants and rhinoceros not only to prevent their extinction but to ensure the safety and security of human beings.
“Many people are not aware that profits from poaching of wild animals are used for terrorist activities. I read that Al Shabab militants in Somalia make a lot of money from poaching, ” said Miles, 67, a retired teacher from the US.
She and scores of UAE residents in Abu Dhabi and Dubai will join the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos (GMFER) that will be held by wildlife campaigners in 135 cities across the globe from 8am on Saturday.
The event will ask people not to buy ivory, rhino horn and lion bones as commodities and demand the governments to publicly destroy their stockpiles of illegal wildlife products and show zero tolerance for illegal trading, the organisers said.
Authorities in UAE have been working in recent years to stem the illicit animal trade, seizing illegal shipments of ivory passing through the country bound for Far East countries. A high demand for freshly poached elephant ivory, rhinoceros horn, and lion bones encourage the animal poaching. Ending that demand is the key part of the solution, they said.
In Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi Wildlife Centre (ADWC) is hosting the event at its premises in Al Wathba. In Dubai, Rhino Conservation Dubai, a conservation group, is organising the March in Jumeirah.
The campaigners said one elephant is being killed every 15 minutes to carve their tusks into ivory trinkets taking the toll to 35,000 elephants every year. A rhino is slaughtered once every 9-11 hours for its horn. The slaughter continues to happen despite a ban that came into force 25 years ago because many legal markets still exist around the world.
At the event in Abu Dhabi, Rone’l Barcellos, manager of ADWC and Samir Karkal, a wildlife campaigner will address the participants.
Karkal said the participants will sign a memorandum and submit it to the embassies of the countries that allegedly permit wildlife trade.
An Abu Dhabi resident said she would like to ensure that next generations can see those beautiful animals.
“If we don’t act now, our children’s children cannot see elephants and rhinos, Hwaida Mohammad Elmahady, 40, a Sudanese wildlife campaigner said.
“After Eid prayers, I will go to the event,” she said.
Miles said many people do not understand that animals also have emotions and family bonding.
“When one animal is killed, others in the family will have a difficult situation. My heart breaks when I think of such a situation.”
She said rhinos are being killed and many people still buy rhino horn under the false impression that they have medicinal value. There is no proof for such medicinal value.
Miles said the March can raise awareness on such issues.
