China Destroys Over 662 Kilograms Of Ivory In Beijing (Photo : Getty Images)
China said all commercial ivory trading in the country would end by 2017. The announcement is part of China’s agreement in 2015 to begin phasing out the local manufacture and sale of ivory products.
The phaseout would begin by banning of all commercial sales of elephant ivory by April 1, covering both physical and online sales, Gizmodo reported. The total ban happens by Dec. 31 when registered traders would not be allowed to sell ivory anymore.
Permanent Closure of Domestic Market
China’s move is in response to the call by the International Trade Union for the Conservation of Nature and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species for the closure of the domestic ivory markets permanently. The Asian giant is the biggest ivory market in the world since about 70 percent of all trade with the elephant tusk take place within China with the product selling as high as $2,400 per pound.
Elly Pepper, deputy director of wildlife trade for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said China setting an aggressive timeline to close its domestic market is significant globally. “It’s a game changer and could be the pivotal turning point that brings elephants back from the brink of extinction,” Pepper stressed.
Elephant Population Down by 1/3
BBC noted that the international ivory market had been closed since 1989, but it is the domestic market which continued in a lot of nations, especially China. To get the ivory, elephants are killed, resulting in a sudden increase in elephant deaths across Africa and reducing the animals’ population by one-third.
However, an undercover investigation for 10 months by the Elephant Action League, a nonprofit organization, reported that the legal ivory market in China is just a cover for the underground market estimated to be 25 bigger than the legal market.
