Hollywood actor and film producer, Leonardo DiCaprio, who is on a hiatus from acting, has taken up the cause of endangered wildlife. He has teamed up with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to launch a campaign to save endangered animals through the "Hands Off My Parts' initiative.
The actor is urging people around the world to speak up against the illegal trafficking of animal parts for profits.
Representatives of various nations plan to assemble in Thailand on March 3 to discuss wildlife trade issue as part of the global treaty called CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).
The actor wants the public to use this opportunity to push Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to take stringent steps towards initiating a ban on ivory sale in the country. Sale of ivory is legal in Thailand.
Thailand is known to be a major ivory market and as sale of ivory is banned in Africa, traders find selling ivory procured from Thailand's domestic elephants very lucrative.
The "Django Unchained" actor has always been actively involved in environmental issues. His Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation established in 1998, has in the past worked on other global campaigns such as Save Tigers Now, Save The Shark and Protect Antarctica's Ocean, to name a few.
In November 2010, Leonardo donated $1 million towards a five day 'tiger summit' in Russia, earning him praise from the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Apart from wildlife protection, his foundation also works on the aspects of forest preservation, healthy oceans, clean water, renewable energy, disaster relief and climate change
DiCaprio's focus on sustainability has led him to form an alliances with 'Fisker' - with whom he aims to work closely on marketing and promotional initiatives to achieve the desired attention on environmental awareness and sustainability.
DiCaprio, in an interview to Ukula.com , said that global warming is a major cause of concern and a challenge to this planet.
