- World-famous
basketball star Yao Ming, WildAid and Discovery Channel expose the
African poaching epidemic, which fuels a multi-billion-dollar global black market
-
In partnership with basketball superstar Yao Ming and WildAid,
Discovery Channel announces the premiere of SAVING AFRICA’S GIANTS WITH YAO MING, which looks at
the worldwide crisis of elephant and rhino poaching. The one-hour feature
documentary – narrated by award-winning actor Edward Norton – premieres on Friday, November 21 at 9:00 p.m., exclusively
on Discovery Channel.
 |
| Photo courtesy of Discovery Channel |
Background
on the crisis and the demand that fuels it
Each year, the death toll
rises with 25,000 African elephants murdered last year alone, and 4.5 million
killed in the last 60 years. These magnificent creatures are victims of ivory
poaching, perpetrated by one of the most organized, widespread wildlife
trafficking networks in history. The growing demand in China and Southeast Asia
is driving sharp increases[1] in
poaching. In China, ivory is prized as a status symbol by the nation’s growing
affluent and middle classes, and the country’s legal market perpetuates demand
and provides a laundering mechanism for illegal, poached ivory from Africa.
Rhino horn is highly sought after for purported health benefits. In Vietnam,
rhino horn has a reputation as a cancer treatment and a hangover cure
regardless of the fact that the horn is composed of keratin – the same
substance as human hair and fingernails.
Fortunately, Africa's
giants have their defenders. Basketball legend and wildlife advocate Yao Ming
travels to Africa in SAVING AFRICA'S GIANTS WITH YAO MING to
uncover the brutal secrets of this multi-million-dollar underground trade, and
spotlights Yao's mission to educate and inspire his countrymen and the world
alike, in the effort to stop the killings and save these innocent creatures
from the very real possibility of extinction. Yao’s combination of
strength, vision and voice serves as a megaphone to help spread awareness about
the cruelty of poaching.
"Yao Ming represents the
next generation of conservationists. Having him as an ambassador is probably
the best thing that could happen to wildlife," says Peter Knights,
executive director of WildAid, the world's only organization focused on
reducing the demand for poached products. On his journey, Yao sees for himself
the evidence of a losing battle, where Africa's giants are senselessly
slain every day for their tusks. Yao, who is a cultural
icon in both his native China and across the globe, quickly realizes the real
war is not in Africa but in the marketplace.
In the program, Yao travels
to Kenya, home to the ancient Samburu people and a natural habitat of African
elephants. Elephants are part of the Samburu heritage and are critical to their
livelihood. Poaching not only destroys the wild species but also the tribal
villagers who depend on them. Yao meets with Sir Iain Douglas-Hamilton,
renowned elephant expert who echoes WildAid's dire conservation message, which
he urges Yao to bring home and disseminate globally: it is a race against time
for these elephants – when the buying stops, the killing will too.
"The huge price
motivates poachers to persist," says Yao. "And if we buy ivory, it
makes all of us killers as well."
Unfortunately, elephants
are not the only victims to poaching. Rhinos are poached for their horns at a
record rate as two rhinos a day are slain in South Africa alone. Yao travels to
the Kariega Game Reserve, located at South Africa's East Cape, to experience
the struggle and pain of orphaned rhinos, whose parents have been killed.
"When our message is
spread by those who see this documentary, people can join us and hopefully wipe
out this black market," says Yao.
To play a part in saving elephants and rhinos from
possible extinction, make a donation or sign the pledge against purchasing or
consuming products made from endangered species at www.DiscoveryChannelAsia.com.
[1] WildAid |
Yao Ming Urges China to ‘Say No To Ivory and Rhino Horn’ With New Film. 2014.
[ONLINE] Available at:
http://www.wildaid.org/news/yao-ming-urges-china-%E2%80%98say-no-ivory-and-rhino-horn%E2%80%99-new-film.
[Accessed 24 October 2014].
No comments:
Post a Comment