Experts believe that 35,000 elephants were killed last year for their tusks, which are made into useless trinkets and decorations. That’’s one elephant killed every 15 minutes, on average.

Regional extinctions of elephants are a danger within the next decade if we don’t act now.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has proposed strong new protections for elephants, including a ban on sales of non-antique ivory in the United States. But some special interest groups are trying to weaken the new rules.

We need to ensure that the rules protecting elephants stay as strong as possible.

Wildlife crime, including ivory trafficking, is increasingly linked to organized crime, militancy and destabilization in fragile democracies in Africa and around the world. The United States is part of the problem, with unenforceable regulation of our domestic ivory markets and a large amount of illegal ivory being smuggled past our borders each year.

The rest of the world is watching to see what actions we take. Just as several countries followed our ivory crush in Denver with similar efforts, these new rules could provide the momentum for a worldwide trade ban.

IFAW, in partnership with Dr. Jane Goodall, IFAW Honorary Board Member Leonardo DiCaprio, and a lineup of businesses, NGOs, and concerned individuals, has written an open letter to President Obama asking him to stay strong for elephants and implement the proposed rules without weakening them.

You can help save elephants. Ask President Obama and Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, to stand strong for elephants.