Gorillas Increasingly Endangered

The following letters arrived recently in my e-mailbox. They are important, especially at this time of proposed Draconian and needless budget cuts. I felt they would be of interest to my readers.


Regards,

The Musical Patriot

*********

Gorillas are gentle giants. Like us, they play, hug, and laugh. But they're endangered and under assault – from illegal hunting, mining, agriculture, and infectious diseases.

And if we don't act now, they'll soon have another threat. Federal lawmakers are planning to cut vital funding for international conservation programs that save gorillas' lives and protect their habitats.

Send a letter to your members of Congress right now and urge them to stand up for Africa's gorillas.

Bob Fertik

-------------

From the Wildlife Conservation Society --

Dear Friend of Wildlife,

Adult gorillas weigh a colossal 500 lbs. and stand six feet tall, but they don't eat meat. Instead, after they've eaten enough of the very tastiest plants they can find, they do what we do – play, hug, and laugh.

But right now these gentle giants are facing a three-fold struggle for existence: they are killed for their meat; their habitats are destroyed by logging, mining, agriculture, and other invasive activities; and infectious diseases ravage their families.

Today, the U.S. government funds vital programs that help alleviate these threats to gorillas. But the newly-released federal budget is promising deep cuts in these programs – putting the future of these animals and other threatened wildlife in even greater jeopardy.

Tell your members of Congress to rescue funding for these gorillas, before it's too late.

These are just some of the critical international conservation programs that could be crippled if we don't speak up now:
The US AID Biodiversity and Sustainable Landscapes programs support the Central African Regional Partnership for the Environment (CARPE), which brings together seven central African countries to work together to find ways to protect forests that serve as vital gorilla habitats.

The Great Ape Conservation Fund, part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, protects gorillas in the wild in Africa through support to anti-poaching, monitoring, and collaboration between conservation organizations, governments, and timber companies to stop illegal hunting and bush meat sales.
The Wildlife Without Borders program, which trains local wildlife managers on how to tackle issues as far-ranging as climate change, the bush meat trade, infectious diseases, and local community development.
Programs that enable the U.S. Forest Service to work with African land management agencies to promote sustainable forest management and slow the destruction of the rain forests.

We are facing an uphill battle today. Programs protecting the world's wildlife and wild places amount to only a minuscule part of the overall federal budget. While we all recognize the need for responsible spending, skimming off funding for international conservation programs won't solve our budget problems. But it will strike a devastating blow to species already on the brink of extinction.

Send a strong message to lawmakers: These animals are already endangered. Don't rob us of our chance to save them with shortsighted cuts to international conservation.

The tight budget season makes an urgent situation for these critically endangered animals all the more dangerous – please, join our call to action today. Make sure Congress knows that conservation is a priority for their constituents.

Thank you for standing with us.

Sincerely,

Liz Bennett
Vice President, Species Conservation
Wildlife Conservation Society


The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth.