The Elephant conservation initiative dubbed "Hands Off Our Elephants" campaign was launched by First Lady Margaret Kenyatta on Friday evening at the Sankara Nairobi Hotel.

The campaign is a call to action to stop elephant poaching with startling figures of over 30,000 killed yearly in Africa. Speaking during the launch, the First Lady said unless the crisis is averted, there will be no elephants in 10 years.

"Elephants are a major tourist attraction in Kenya today, if we lose them, we also lose economically. It's my call to action to every Kenyan to take responsibility and save them," she said.

WildLifeDirect CEO Dr Paula Kahumbu said, "the Country earns about 12 per cent of its gross domestic product every year from tourism. Time for talking is over. We have to take responsibility. It's a campaign where everybody must play a role to stop poaching."

In attendance were WildLifeDirect founder Dr Richard Leakey, cabinet secretaries Prof Judy Wakhungu and Ambassador Amina Mohammed, President Uhuru Kenyatta's private secretary Jomo Gecaga and Nairobi governor Dr Evans Kidero.