Center for Biological Diversity


For Immediate Release, July 11, 2016

Contact: Leigh Moyer, (520) 623-5252 x 313, lmoyer@biologicaldiversity.org 

10,000 Endangered Species Condoms to Be Given Away for World Population Day

Condoms Highlight Connection Between Wildlife Extinction Crisis, Human Population Growth

TUCSON, Ariz.— The Center for Biological Diversity will today distribute 10,000 free Endangered Species Condoms nationwide as a part of World Population Day. The distribution seeks to make the connection between unsustainable human population growth and the wildlife extinction crisis by highlighting the need for universal access to reproductive healthcare and education.

Condom package
Art by Shawn DiCriscio. Package design by Lori Lieber. Condom package photos are available for media use.

Human population continues to grow at a rate of about 227,000 people per day, driving habitat loss and forcing competition for natural resources. Wild plants and animals are going extinct at rates 1,000 to 10,000 times the natural background rate due to habitat loss, pollution, climate change and other human-caused problems.

“Human population growth is rarely addressed by environmental groups, but we can’t truly solve the pressing environmental issues of our time without coming up with real solutions for our increasingly crowded planet,” said Leigh Moyer, the Center’s population organizer. “Ensuring that people can choose if, when and how many children to have is a critical part of protecting wildlife and the environment. That’s why we created our Endangered Species Condoms and why we’re working hard to draw attention to World Population Day.”

The Center’s Endangered Species Condoms were created to raise awareness about the effect of rampant human population growth on wildlife species and are wrapped in colorful packages featuring six different endangered species and information about the impact of runaway human population growth on polar bears, monarch butterflies and other imperiled wildlife. The Center has given away 660,000 of the free condoms since 2009.

The condoms will be handed out by more than 100 volunteers at farmer’s markets, summer concerts and on college campuses across the country.

“I am so excited about having the opportunity to distribute these condoms as a real way to reach out to people and help them understand their own responsibilities as stewards of this planet,” said James Bland, a volunteer condom distributor in Memphis, Tenn.

“There are so many people young — and old — who can be inspired to real action if someone just takes the time to get them better educated. Truly there are so many times and places where I can be an advocate for planet Earth.”

World Population Day, July 11, was designated by the United Nations in 1989 to raise awareness about global population issues. There are more than 7.4 billion people on the planet, with the United States ranked as the third-most populous country.

The Center’s population and sustainability program uses creative media to promote a range of common-sense solutions like access to family planning and reproductive health services, as well as education, opportunity and equal rights for women and girls.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


Go back