China announces total ban on trade in ivory
Print Edition
CHINA will ban all ivory trade and processing by the end of this year, the government said, a move hailed by conservationists as a “game changer” for African elephants.
The decision came after the country imposed a three-year ban on ivory imports in March 2016 in an escalated fight against the illegal trading of wild animals and plants.
The move will affect the country’s 34 processing enterprises and 143 designated trading venues, with dozens to be closed by the end of March, according to an official with the State Forestry Administration.
Before that deadline, law enforcement agencies will continue to clamp down on illegal activities associated with elephants’ tusks, the official said.
African ivory is highly sought after in China, where it is seen as a status symbol, with prices per kilogram reaching as high as US$1,100.
“To better protect elephants and better tackle the illegal trade ... China will gradually stop the processing and sale of ivory for commercial purposes” by the end of 2017, the State Council said in a weekend statement.
“This is great news that will shut down the world’s largest market for elephant ivory,” said Aili Kang, executive director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Asia.
“I am very proud of my country for showing this leadership that will help ensure that elephants have a fighting chance to beat extinction. This is a game changer for Africa’s elephants.”
Poaching is a major factor contributing to the rapid decline in African elephants, with about 20,000 slaughtered every year, according to the WWF.
It says about 415,000 African elephants remain today, compared to 3 to 5 million in the early 20th century. The animal is officially listed as a vulnerable species.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which took effect in 1975, banned the ivory trade in 1989.
China permits the resale of ivory bought before the 1989 ban — and also has a stockpile purchased with CITES approval in 2008, which it releases for sale with certification.
People with ivory products previously obtained through legal means can apply for certification and continue to display them in exhibitions and museums, the government said.
China would continue to allow auctions of ivory antiques deemed to have come from legitimate sources, under strict supervision, it added.
Up to 900 cases of ivory smuggling are uncovered on the Chinese mainland each year, according to customs figures. More than half of legitimate ivory businesses are implicated in the illegal trade.
In June, the United States — the world’s second-largest consumer of illegal ivory after China — announced a near-total ban on the trade of African elephant ivory but with notable exemptions including antiques. Ivory carving is an ancient art in China and finely worked pieces are highly collectible.
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