The Dalai Lama has expressed his support for a Victoria couple intent on saving elephants from poachers. Dag Goering and his wife Maria Coffey, founders of the nonprofit Elephant Earth Initiative, received a written message dated April 8 from the Tibetan religious leader pledging his support.
“I am told about 70 elephants are slaughtered every day for their ivory tusks,” reads the Dalai Lama’s message. “ I am happy to lend my support to the Elephant Earth Initiative and its efforts to protect elephants from unnecessary suffering and death.”
Goering, who was trained as a veterinarian and became captivated by elephants after treating one in India, said he was touched by the note.
“He just sounds like a marvellous person,” he said in a telephone interview from New York, where he and Coffey are meeting with a publisher.
Goering said he is hoping to attract similar support from Pope Francis. After all, his papal name honours St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology.
Goering and Coffey own an adventure-travel company, Hidden Places, which offers treks to Africa in support of elephants. The couple donates a portion of the company’s earnings to elephant support.
— Richard Watts
