Write a Letter -> Buy a Stamp -> Save Endangered Species

In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service issued the Save Vanishing Species Semi-postal Stamp, which provided crucial funding to support international conservation efforts for endangered species.  

Citizens have voluntarily purchased more than 25 million stamps in less than 2 years, providing almost $2.5M to support projects by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for tigers, elephants, rhinos, great apes, and marine turtles.

Unfortunately, after December 2013, the U.S. Postal Service discontinued the sale and distribution of the stamp.

So what’s the big deal?

77 million unsold stamps still remain in post offices across the country which equates to about $7M in potential conservation dollars, if the U.S. Postal Service does not destroy the stamp. Why let those stamps go to waste due to government inaction?

The money raised from the stamp helps to finance the hiring and training of anti-poaching units, to provide logistical and technical aid to protected area managers, and to educate targeted groups on natural resource extraction and prevention of wildlife crimes. Why would we want to cut that success short?

The support this stamp has received so far serves as a testament to just how much the American public cares about saving species threatened with extinction. Additionally, this stamp puts much-needed funds in the hands of those who are best qualified to address this crisis and requires no federal funding.

Why does this matter if you are in a Tigers for Tigers club or attend a tiger mascot school?

The tiger is the history and legacy of our institutions and we take great pride in our mascot. The stamp provided us with an opportunity to make a difference. Many Tigers for Tigers clubs across the country got their university and local post offices to carry the Save Vanishing Species Stamp. This provided opportunities for university students, faculty, staff, alumni and tiger fans to participate in international conservation efforts to save our mascot.

Now there is an opportunity for us to raise our voice and seek re-authorization of the Save Vanishing Species Stamp.

Save our mascot. Write a letter to Senator Tom Carper of Delaware

Please join the National Tigers for Tigers Coalition in bringing the plight of tigers to the forefront of public awareness to rally financial support for their conservation. By endorsing the re-authorization of the Save Vanishing Species Stamp, you would be doing just that. 

Click here to download our letter to send to Senator Carper, who can make a difference in Congress. 

Where do we send the letter? Here is the address:

Senator Tom Carper

United States Senate

513 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

For more information about the Save Vanishing Species Stamp, please visit www.tigerstamp.com

We sincerely thank you for all of your support and efforts.

All the best,

The National Tigers for Tigers Coalition

Stop the private ownership of big cats - Take Action Today

There are an estimated 5,000 tigers in captivity, in private hands, here in the United States and only 3200 tigers in the wild. Let that settle in for a minute…There are more tigers in captivity than there are in the wild.

“My tiger would never harm me. She loves me. I’ve raised her since she was a cub, and trust me, she’s tame.”

Tigers are magnificent and majestic creatures, yes. However, we have to remember that they are wild animals. Tigers can weigh up to 600 lbs! They have massive canines and can tear you to pieces with one swipe of their claws if something goes wrong. Within the past two decades, over 200 people have been mauled or injured as a result of captive big cats incidents. 24 people have died. 5 of those individuals were children. Is it worth the risk?

Taking care of an adult tiger is a massive undertaking and costly. The average cost to feed one of these big cats is $10,000. Although private owners mean well, the burden is just too much. Many private owners do not have the space or capacity required to take care of these large cats. This leads to mal-nourishment, poor health, and lack of space for the tigers.

                                           

Let's not forget about law-enforcement officials. Law-enforcement officials are neither trained nor have to resources available to handle a situation involving a large big cat if it gets loose or harms an individual. Let’s not put our dedicated law-enforcement officials in harm’s way.

"Why can’t we breed tigers under private ownership and re-introduce them into the wild?"

Many tigers bred under private ownership are considered to be generic and have no conservation value. The majority of these tigers contain genetic DNA from multiple sub-species of tigers. If we re-introduce these genetic tigers into the wild, we are disrupting the genetic diversity within the gene pool of the individual tiger sub-species. 

"But some people breed tigers in the U.S., right?"

There are exhibitors out there, with USDA licenses, that breed tigers for the cub petting industry. People will pay exhibitors to take pictures and handle cubs at roadside zoos and fairgrounds. Unfortunately, many of these cubs suffer abuse from their owners for the entertainment of the American public. We ask that you do not support cub petting activities. 

"What happens to tiger parts after a tiger passes away?"

There is evidence to suggest that tiger parts from tigers in captivity are entering the illegal black market within the United States. The investigation Operation Cyberwild led by FWS and the California Department of Fish and Game led to multiple cases of interstate illegal trafficking of endangered species and parts. If these tiger parts are entering the black market, we are increasing the domestic supply and demand which threatens wild populations.

Now there is an opportunity for you to help!

Support the Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act (H.R.1998/S.1381). Contact your Senators and Representatives in Congress today!

We acknowledge that tigers are inherently wild and dangerous animals, which should not be kept as backyard pets or for profit in roadside zoos. We ask you to ensure the safety and welfare of both the American public and these wild cats by co-sponsoring the Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act today.

The bill seeks to phase out the captive private possession and breeding of big cats by non-accredited individuals or organizations governed by the Captive Wildlife Safety Act in the U.S.

These bills would require current private owners and exhibitors to register their current exotic animals with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This will allow us to have a better understanding of how many tigers are here in the United States. 

If this bill passes, there will be penalties for violations up to a $20,000 fine and up to 5 years in jail. 

For more information about the Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act (H.R.1998/S.1381) and tigers in captivity, visit the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s website or Tigers In America’s website. 

Click here to download our letter template and send it to your Congressional leaders. 

This link will connect you to Born Free USA to determine who your Representatives are to support this piece of legislation (H.R.1998)

This link will direct you to determine who are Senators are to support the Senate bill (S.1381).

If you have any questions about your letter or how to write to a Congressmen, please send us an email at t4tcoalition@gmail.com and we would be happy to assist you. Thank you, go tigers!

Sean Carnell

National Coordinator

@T4T_Coalition
#saveourmascot

Tigers for Tigers joins the Smithsonian and Portugal. The Man to generate awareness for Sumatran tigers

The Sumatran tiger is highly endangered as there are only 400 remaining in the wild. The American rock band, Portugal. The Man, has partnered with the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute to release an exclusive un-released vinyl record called the “Sumatran Tiger” to raise awareness about their endangerment. Together they have called upon 400 major influencers across the world, from conservationists to celebrities, to digitize the vinyl record and “breed” it through social media.

We are pleased to be working with the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute as one of 400 influencers to partake in the Endangered Song Project. So let us take action, inspire change and generate awareness for the Sumatran tiger before it is too late.

Want to participate?

Click on this link and share it with your friends and family on social media channels like facebook and twitter. Use the hash-tag #endangeredsong to share!  

For more information about the #endangeredsong project, visit the Smithsonian’s website here.

Want to check out more music from Portugal. The Man check out their website here.

On behalf of the National Tigers for Tigers Coalition, we would like to dedicate this effort to the late Dr. Ron Tilson for his work on Sumatran tigers. We would also sincerely like to thank the Smithsonian National Zoo and Marshall Jones for reaching out to us to participate in this fantastic project. Go tigers!

Sean Carnell, National Coordinator

@T4T_Coalition

#saveourmascot

Towson Tigers for Tigers activates students at Earth Fest!

For our first tabling event on Towson University’s campus, we worked with TowsonGoGreen at their first EarthFest event! In honor of Earth day, the event was held outside where vendors were set up and ready to share why earth day is important to them. Our goal for the day was to create an inviting and interactive table where students could learn about tigers and share why they want to save our mascot. To create this atmosphere we set up our tri-fold T4T poster, whiteboard and special “cub-cakes.” The idea here was to give away a free “cub-cake” in exchange for a picture to post on TU T4T’s twitter and facebook. The event was successful and really helped spread some awareness about our club and tigers to our school. 

The students were interested and wanted to know more about why tigers in the wild are endangered. We gave special focus to habitat loss as one of the prime reasons for dwindling tiger numbers, which combined the importance of why we need tigers in the wild and why we need Earth day. It shows a nice symmetry that by saving the forest, you are saving tigers. 

For more information about Towson Tigers for Tigers, follow them on Facebook and Twitter. 

Do you attend Towson University? Want to get involved in Towson T4T? Send them an email at towsont4t@gmail.com. 

Chelsea Connor, Towson T4T

Colorado College Tigers for Tigers gives back to their local community

On our first volunteer trip to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in the fall of 2013, we had a discussion towards the end of the day about the challenges of being a zookeeper for the big cats. A lot of energy was put into providing enrichment activities, but they did offer a way we could help. One activity that the tigers loved, but which took too much time for the keepers, was making deer-shaped “piñatas” out of cardboard and paper mache. At Colorado College Tigers for Tigers, this sparked an idea.

Using cardboard boxes from the mail room, used paper towel and toilet paper roles from members houses, and a balloon, we constructed the skeleton of a deer. Because we couldn't use any processed parts, we used paper mache (newspaper dipped in a thick mixture of flour and water) to stick the parts together. We then removed the balloon, and took it to campus to show it off to the rest of the student body. To help raise awareness about our club on campus, and for the Big Cats and Public Safety Act, we set up a table outside our student center and allowed people to decorate the deer, and in exchange they would sign a letter there in support of the Act to be sent to one of our two Colorado Senators. Through this process, we sent 50 letters to Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennett, and raised awareness about tigers in America in the process.

In March, we were finally able to take our Deer Pinata to the Cheyenne Mountain zoo for one of their tigers to enjoy. For the final prep, we stuffed the inside with Giraffe hay, since the tigers greatly enjoy novel scents. We also smeared meat around the outside of the box and attached it to a zipline that would swing it out over the tiger exhibit. Watching Grom, the tiger, destroy the deer was amazing. We got to see his stalking and attack skills, and to see how happy he was to roll around in the hay after the deer had been torn to shreds was incredible. To know that we as Colorado College students are able to provide that much direct help for the tigers is a special feeling, and we all left the zoo that day feeling very satisfied with our work.

Check out our video of Grom destroying our deer by clicking here.

For more information about Colorado College Tigers for Tigers, please visit our facebook page or send us an email at cct4tigers@gmail.com.

Are you inspired by this story? Send us an email at t4tcoalition@gmail.com to find out what you can do to help tigers and support your local zoo. 

Nathan Hahn

National T4T Coalition Liaison

Colorado College Tigers for Tigers

University of Missouri hosts 2nd Annual Summit on April 4-6th

I am excited to share the proceedings of the 2^nd Annual Summit of the National Tigers for Tigers Coalition on April 4-6, 2014 with you all! Representatives from nine T4T schools across the nation, including Louisiana State University, Clemson University, Trinity University, Colorado College, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY-Cobleskill, Towson University, the University of South Carolina, and the University of Missouri joined together in Columbia, MO to discuss how to build successful Tigers for Tigers clubs, promote education and awareness initiatives, build local partnerships with zoos and sanctuaries, and  support policy reform efforts.

Over the course of the weekend, we enjoyed presentations from five distinguished speakers. Tracy Coppola, the Campaigns Officer for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, talked to us about the progress of the Big Cat and Public Safety Protection Act (H.R. 1998/S.1381), and what we can do to raise awareness about the bill and lend our support. Saturday morning we had a presentation by Dr. Tara Harris, the Minnesota Zoo Director of Conservation and Tiger Species Survival Plan (SSP). Dr. Harris reminded us of the great work of the late Dr. Ron Tilson, who spoke at last year’s summit, and talked about the status of zoo tigers. She also explained to us how zoos are working to ensure the success of wild populations of tigers. I encourage you to look into the Tiger Conservation Campaign, which was recently launched by the Tiger SSP to raise awareness about the plight of wild tigers, as well as funds for conservation efforts. Dr. Eric Dinerstein, who was previously Lead Scientist and Vice President of Conservation Science at the World Wildlife Fund, is currently working on a new conservation start-up known as WildTech with the NGO Resolve. He focused his presentation on the promising future of technology in conservation efforts particularly to address problems with poaching. Saturday evening, Hemanta Kafley, who is an MU Ph.D. candidate completing his research on tigers in Nepal, spoke to us about his research and his personal experiences as a native of Nepal. Mr. Kafley reminded us that the human side of conservation issues needs to be considered while working to save tigers. Tim Harrison of Outreach for Animals finished off our weekend with an extremely informative presentation about private ownership of tigers in America and the complications it creates for first responders. We are extremely grateful to have had these tiger experts in attendance at our summit and to have had the opportunity to learn from them.

I would also like to recognize our honorary guests who were in attendance at the event. Many of these individuals participated in our workshops and shared their perspectives on how we can be more impactful as an organization.

·         Mike Crocker, Director of Dickerson Park Zoo

·         Jeri Wright, Program Coordinator and Keeper at Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary

·         Caroline Aldenderfer, Keeper at Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary

·         Valerie Conaway, Keeper at Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary

·         Bonnie Glover, Promotions/Education Program Coordinator at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

·         Bill Nimmo, Tigers in America

·         Aryuna Radnaeva, Coordinator of the Center for Development of Ecological and Social Projects in Moscow

·         Lyubov Volkova, Lecturer in Ecological Management at St. Petersburg State Economics University

·         Anna Zavadskaya, Staff Scientist at Kronotsky Nature Reserve in the Russian Far East

·         Dr. Leslie Lyons, Cat Geneticist at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine

·         Bruce Loewenberg, Member of the MU Alumni Association

·         Gale Douglas, Member of the MU Alumni Association

A huge thank you to all of these individuals! I would also like to thank our donors: the National Wildlife Refuge Association, the MU School of Natural Resources, the MU Animal Science Department, the Ag Endowment Fund, the MU Organization Resource Group, Mr. Bruce Loewenberg, and Hy-Vee. We couldn’t have made this happen without their help.

Our break-out workshops were very successful this year. We had four groups discussing local T4T efforts, local relationships with organizations, education and awareness initiatives, and policy and legislation, as well as a fifth workshop for the steering committee. The results of the weekend are very encouraging! The Local T4T Efforts group discussed reasons to fundraise, how to get publicity for a fundraising event, types of fundraisers, and individual club goals. In regards to building stronger T4T clubs, they discussed the importance of regular meetings and how best to carry out those meetings, as well as recruitment, social and service activities, education programs, record-keeping, and officer positions. Lastly, they discussed methods to increase communication between clubs, highlighting the importance of the liaison position, a newsletter, and other methods of communication.

The local relationships group discussed how to build relationships within our universities as well as with zoos and sanctuaries. We wish to work effectively with our school’s alumni associations to raise funds locally and support our partners. T4T clubs also wish to  support students in research and internships, as this would provide us with more international opportunities and university support. .  As our universities move towards becoming more ecosystem friendly, we can work with our schools to increase the focus on mascot conservation. Perhaps the most exciting conversation to come out of this group involved creating a tiger mascot video using each school’s mascot. This video would be released on Global Tiger Day and would feature popular and diverse individuals within our schools who would stand up for tiger conservation.

The education and awareness group focused on public educational programs at individual schools, our Facebook Education Initiative, the Tiger Skit, and a week of tiger awareness at each T4T school. The action plan for this group includes setting a date for tiger awareness week in the fall, beginning plans for school events, filming individual school videos for a Public Service Announcement, creating a list of recommended zoos and sanctuaries along with the assistance of our partners, implementing individual school education programs, and increasing activity in the Facebook Education Initiative. We hope this will increase our outreach through various media sources.

The policy & legislation group set goals for the next year. In regards to the Big Cat and Public Safety Protection Act, we hope to have more letter writing campaigns both as a national coalition and as individual schools. One thing that is important is that these letters include a personal voice. Why are we as individuals interested in this act? Why do we care? Why does it matter to us as individuals as opposed to an organization? Another idea is to partner with sanctuaries and AZA zoos to send joint letters of support. Other important outcomes of this workshop include methods of improving campus involvement in policies that promote tiger conservation and the welfare of captive tigers. We hope to have an event on Global Tiger Day in which we all submit letters to Congress in order to draw attention to this issue. We wish to continue our support for the Administration’s National Strategy on Combating Wildlife Trafficking.  The steering committee focused on our successes as we have developed this organization. For example, the steering committee has grown as the number of schools involved has increased. We have also been successful in sharing and utilizing ideas, and our Education Initiative on Facebook has generated a considerable amount of attention from NT4TC members. Some challenges we hope to address are the difficulties of finding an efficient way for us all to participate in steering committee meetings, increasing transparency between clubs, the steering committee, and the National Coordinator, and defining clear objectives for what we wish to accomplish in set time periods. The steering committee successfully drafted an accountability policy and set short term and long term goals.

It took a lot of work to put this event together, but I believe it was successful and that our participants learned a lot and enjoyed themselves. I am extremely excited to see where the NT4TC goes from here! I hope we continue to grow in number and influence and that one day all 56 tiger mascot schools will participate. We are already a force to be reckoned with, and I look forward to seeing the plans we came up with during the summit come to fruition. Thank you for reading this entry! Go tigers!

Best,

Rhiannon Koehler

University of Missouri Tigers for Tigers

Vice President

For more information about the National Tigers for Tigers Coalition, please visit us on our website or on Facebook or Twitter.

For more information about the University of Missouri Tigers for Tigers, please visit us on our website or on Facebook or Twitter.

RIT Tigers for Tigers – mobilizing athletes for a cause

A little background on the Rochester Institute of Technology: Matt Miles is an executive board member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), which is a committee that promotes their athletic teams and encourages student-athletes to be more involved in the community. SAAC really liked the idea that they would be saving their mascot from extinction, especially since the athletes have such a strong tie to tigers. Overall, the SAAC decided to fundraise for tigers at the local Seneca Park Zoo and in the wild. RIT’s Tigers for Tigers (T4T) members are constantly working to spread awareness of the plight of their mascot around campus. Throughout the year, a couple of 5K races are held to do just that.

An annual 5K is held in the fall, the Brick City 5K, which is in honor of homecoming and all the festivities. To raise awareness of the newly developed initiative, T4T invited all RIT student-athletes to run with t-shirts displaying the National Tigers for Tigers Coalition’s logo.  This event turned out to be a huge success with over 140 student-athletes running and they raised $250.   Dr. Karey Pine, the Senior Director of the Center for Campus Life, provided the t-shirts and matched the initial contribution of athlete donations. This was also a very special kick-off event because Sean Carnell attended and gave a brief overview of national coalition’s mission at the start of the race.

A second 5K, the FreezeFest 5K, was held in the spring with over 200 participants. What made this year stand out from the previous years was that the goal of the race was to raise money for the Seneca Park Zoo and the Panthera – Save the Tiger Fund.  Originally, the FreezeFest proceeds have gone to RIT athletic teams. Amazingly, the goal was met, and all $925 from the race went towards the tigers.

Overall, RIT’s Tigers for Tigers has raised over $1000 this year!  Matt was ecstatic with the turn out of both events and the money raised in the process. Way to go RIT!For more information about RIT Tigers for Tigers, visit their facebook page to find out how you can get involved today. 

Want to see more photos from the event? Visit the National Tigers for Tigers Coalition's facebook page.