Sen. Keaveny Presents Governor With Letters
Supporting 96 Elephants Campaign

Jefferson City — Sen. Joseph Keaveny, D-St. Louis, has joined with thousands of others in supporting the “96 Elephants” campaign.

“I am a huge supporter of the St. Louis Zoo and I am honored to be a part of a ceremony that will recognize the hard work of three dedicated zookeepers in our state,” Sen. Keaveny said.

Today, Aug. 8, Sen. Keaveny joined the governor and three zookeepers from across the state to present them with letters from children that support the campaign. Sheila Samek, from Dickerson Park Zoo, has been a zookeeper for almost 15 years. Katie Muninger, from the Kansas City Zoo, has been an assistant supervisor there for seven years. Katie Pilgram-Kloppe has spent the last five years as an elephant caretaker for the zoo’s family of 10 Asian Elephants. She is the lead trainer for Priya – the zoo’s one-year-old elephant and the first ever born at the St. Louis Zoo.

They were presented letters written by elementary school students across the state. The letters include the children’s reasons for wanting to save elephants. Some of the messages include” “Save the Elephants,” “Don’t Turn Your Back on Me,” and “Peace in the World for Ivory-one.”

Ninety-six elephants are illegally killed for the ivory found in the elephants’ tusks every day in Africa. Missouri’s accredited zoos have joined more than 110 Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) zoos that are part of the “96 Elephants” campaign. This campaign has three goals – to secure a U.S. moratorium on illegal ivory; to reinforce the protection of African elephants; and to inform the public about the link between ivory consumption and the elephant poaching crisis. 

The public can join the zoos in the fight to save elephants in the wild by adding their names to an online petition at www.96elephants.org. Signatures will be sent to Missouri’s elected officials in Washington, D. C.