AZA Elephant Conservation

Working With Congress

At the international, federal and state levels, the AZA is a strong voice for animal welfare, conservation, research and public education. AZA works to influence the creation of policy and laws that will help protect animals, like elephants.

For example, last year AZA provided professional testimony to Congress on three critical animal issues:

importation of Exotic Species and the impact on Public Health and Safety issues;
the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, and;
the Marine Turtle Conservation Act.

AZA supported Congress re-authorizing three, highly effective international wildlife conservation acts that provide critical funding for conservation of elephants, rhinos and tigers. The programs are the:

African Elephant Conservation Act
Asian Elephant Conservation Act
Rhino-Tiger Conservation Act

These three important pieces of legislation represent a notable percentage of the federal government's direct contribution to preserving species-specific wildlife abroad. Since the late 1980s, the African Elephant Conservation Act has generated 123 projects in 22 range countries and gone a long way toward stemming the dramatic decline in African elephant numbers. The Asian Elephant Conservation Fund, created in 1997, has generated 27 projects in nine range countries.

AZA advocates that Congress increase conservation funding under the Multi-National Species Conservation Fund program, which includes African and Asian elephants, and look beyond these established funds to new and innovative legislative mechanisms for addressing ecosystem-wide management and protection issues.