Elephants are the world's largest land mammals and are keystone species for the savannah and forest ecosystems. However, these gentle giants are being poached for their ivory at unprecedented rates. In 1980 there were over 1,000,000 elephants in the wild. Today, there are as few as 450,000 in the wild, with possible extinction by 2020. An estimated 100 elephants are killed every day by poachers. It is imperative that the Catholic Church, one of the world's largest religious institutions, stand up for elephants and say no to ivory art.