By WildAid(The Vampire Diaires) with its prestigious Wildlife Champion Award. Past recipients included Sir Paul McCartney and actress Maggie Q.
We had the opportunity to catch up with Somerhalder as he shared inspiration on how the travel community can become a voice for animals and the environment, simply by exercising its purchasing power in a way that benefits the greater good.
Nikki Reed + Ian Somerhalder
“You get to vote every single day with your dollar”
Vampire Diaries’ Ian Somerhalder On How To Be A Kind Traveler With WildAid
Vampire Diaries’ Ian Somerhalder On How To Be A Kind Traveler With WildAid
“I think now more than ever, the travel community is responsible for not only an incredible amount of fossil fuels and burning hydrocarbons, but also a lot of animal products,” shared Somerhalder.
“By virtue of the fact Kind Traveler benefits organizations like WildAid, I think it lends itself to building to what’s now going to have to happen as a result of the recent election. I think what we’ve now learned is that in regard to the environment, the government is no longer looking out for it. As we’ve now seen, nothing can change without the populace. You have to have people behind you. It’s now going to be about conscious consumerism. If your vote didn’t count in the recent election, you get to vote every single day with your dollar. Who are you going to purchase from? Are they companies that are good stewards of the environment and the communities around them--- or are they not? It’s about putting down Snapchat, Twitter, and social media and diving in as a human being and really starting to understand what and how you’re buying. And through that, we can stop the senseless slaughter of our environment and endangered species from corporations that don’t care.”
Many astounding wins for wildlife were shared however there’s still a lot of work to be done.
WildAid Co-Founder, Peter Knights, shared that the latest market research from China shows an 82 percent decline in shark fin imports between 2012-2015 as its campaign and a government ban on shark fin at state banquets continue. Shark poaching has stopped altogether in the Galapagos Islands, where at one point 10,000 fins were seized in a single shipment. “This comes at the nexus of our two approaches: helping governments better enforce their protected areas, and reducing consumer demand, which has resulted in lower shark fin prices,” shares Knights.
How To Travel Kindly By WildAid Founder Peter Knights
How To Travel Kindly By WildAid Founder Peter Knights
Back on land, when it comes to our highly endangered rhino friends, Knights shared that wholesale rhino horn prices in Vietnam have fallen by more than 50 percent. Much of this decrease has been attributed WildAid’s “Say No To Rhino Horn” campaign featuring The Laura Show, By Jessica Blotter • Posted on Dec 13, 2016
