Web hosts continue to help save the elephants

The needless extinction of animals rightfully raises the ire of many. Thankfully, there are companies, even in Web hosting, willing to do something to help out.

Easyspace, a UK web hosting provider and domain registrar, just introduced ‘Say No to dot. gone’ and intends to donate 5 pence (nickel) for every domain name it sells over the next 6 months to elephant family, a UK charity dedicated to the plight of the endangered Asian elephant.

Easyspace has been involved in saving the Asian elephant since they adopted it as their company logo back in 2002. Errol Vanderhorst, managing director of the company notes: “As a domain name provider, we felt that the term ‘dot.gone’ tied us in perfectly with the Asian elephant’s fight for survival. If we do not act now there is a very real possibility that the Asian elephant will be extinct in the wild within the next forty years.”

Errol adds: “It’s the important work that elephant family does in preserving the Asian elephant’s natural domain that has made it such a perfect partner and recipient for the funds raised through our ‘Domain Names for a Domain’campaign.”

So far, elephant family has raised £3 million (US$1.469 million) to support projects across India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Securing vital wildlife ‘corridors’ as well as helping remote farming communities to live safely inside wild elephant territory is a primary mission. Add to that, rescuing abused street elephants and providing free veterinary care.

Back in 2001, another Web host based in Toronto opened my eyes to the alarming extermination of the African elephant at the merciless hands of poachers who to this day kill the animals to feed the need for their valuable ivory tusks. Paul MacKenzie founded Elehost in 1998 not just as a means to provide businesses with a Web presence but to help save the elephants by providing complimentary Web hosting services for the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust - an organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of Africa's endangered species. The hosting provider also maintains an Elephant Information Repository portal to educate and provide information about the animal.

The population of the Asian elephant is currently estimated at about 30,000 due in large part to human encroachment on its domain, loss of habitat and poaching. Despite an ivory ban being imposed in 1989, the total African elephant population is now less than 470,000 down from 1.3 million in 1980. Recent reports show 38,000 African elephants are killed each year for their tusks as the demand for ivory is growing in places such as China, Japan and the US.

Visit Save the Elephants to learn more.