Citizens Spur States to Ban Trade in Ivory and Rhino Horn
From Vermont to California, grassroots efforts drive state actions to protect elephants and rhinos.
SHELBURNE, Vermont"When you think things need to change, you have the power to make it happen," Ashley McAvey, homegrown elephant activist and mother of two, told students recently at Endeavour Middle School in Shelburne, Vermont.
McAvey is the driving force behind Vermont's proposed legislation (H. 297) to ban sales of elephant ivory and rhino horn in the state. She'll be giving testimony at the April 8 hearing on the bill before the state's House Committee on Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources.
"Federal laws restrict the import, export, and interstate sale of ivory," she said, "but they don't regulate intrastate ivory sales adequately, and they also allow the continued sale of certain ivory, like antiques."
McAvey's efforts are part of a larger trend, in
