The UK has taken a leading role in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade, putting into law a complete ban on the sale of ivory last year. To further highlight the plight of Thai elephants and combat the grim and illegal trade in elephant ivory, the British embassy has initiated the "Elephants Are Like Us" photo competition, open to Thai social media users.
To enter the contest, participants are required to post pictures of themselves interacting with elephants displaying emotional behaviours that we, as humans, can relate to.
Pictures representing the illegal ivory trade can also be submitted as part of the campaign. Each entrant can post up to three pictures to their Facebook or Instagram pages and tag #elephantsarelikeus and @UKinThailand, until March 8.
Shortlisted eye-catching pictures will be shared on the British embassy's official Facebook page and put to a public vote from March 9 to noon on March 12. The winners will be announced on Thai Elephant Day, which falls on March 13.
Winning photos will be determined using a point-based system, where each "like" equals one point, each comment equals two points and tagging a friend equals three points. The overall winner will receive a ceramic elephant signed by celebrities supporting this campaign. The nine other winners will receive campaign T-shirts.
The campaign is to raise awareness of the illegal trade in elephant ivory in Thailand and the illegal wildlife trade in general.
