What effect has the ivory trade had on elephants?

Because of the high price of ivory, poachers illegally kill elephants so that they can take their tusks and sell them. Tens of thousands of elephants are killed each year for their tusks, and as a result, elephant populations have declined rapidly.

How much is African elephant ivory worth?

Black-market values are, of course, often invisible to the general public, but the most recent data from criminal justice experts finds that unworked (or raw) elephant ivory sells for about $92/kg on the black market in Africa, while rhino horn is currently selling for $8,683/kg.

Is there still an ivory trade?

While unrestricted international commercial trade in ‘new’ ivory is banned (CITES 1989), many countries continue to allow some form of commercial trade in ivory within and across their borders. Increasingly, these domestic markets are being recognised as significant drivers of elephant poaching and ivory trafficking.

What event happened in 1989 that impacted the trade in ivory?

A worldwide ban on ivory sales in 1989 led to a rebound in the population, to about a million. But in 1999 and 2008, due to pressure from countries in Asia and southern Africa, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) allowed two sanctioned sales of ivory.

Is ivory illegal to own?

It’s important to understand that simply possessing ivory you already own is not illegal, nor is passing it on to your heirs. Preexisting items manufactured with ivory such as musical instruments used in orchestras, furniture and items such as firearms containing fewer than 200 grams are exempt.

Is it illegal to sell elephant ivory?

Under Federal law, you can sell your African elephant ivory within your state (intrastate commerce) if you can demonstrate that your ivory was lawfully imported prior to the date that the African elephant was listed in CITES Appendix I (January 18, 1990). Some states have laws prohibiting or restricting sale of ivory.

Can you buy ivory legally?

Ivory sales are also banned in several states, such as California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Washington and New York. Interstate sales of ivory items is also prohibited in the U.S. for sport trophies and ivory items that were brought into the U.S. as part of a scientific research project or law enforcement investigation.

How can you tell real ivory from fake ivory?

Though authentic ivory is made from elephant tusks, people imitate with bone or even plastic, which can be weighted to feel like ivory. You can usually tell if the piece is a fake made of bone by observing the tunnels in the bones – authentic ivory will have no striations.

Is it illegal to buy ivory?

Is it illegal to have elephant tusks?

Yes. Federal wildlife laws and regulations such as CITES, the ESA, and the AfECA do not prohibit possessing or display of ivory, provided it was lawfully acquired.

How many elephants are killed a year for their tusks?

Poachers kill about 20,000 elephants every single year for their tusks, which are then traded illegally in the international market to eventually end up as ivory trinkets.

Is the ivory trade still going on in Africa?

But since then, the illegal ivory trade has not stopped. Poachers are still killing elephants for their tusks and the ivory is being sent around the world by networks of criminals. It is often mixed in with legal ivory so that people can’t tell the difference between the two.

How are we saving elephants from the ivory trade?

Our approach to saving elephants involves disrupting the trans-national organised criminal groups that fuel much of the large-scale ivory trafficking from Africa to Asia. We do this by investigating wildlife trafficking networks and the criminals that run them, who are often based far away in Vietnam, China and Singapore.

What kind of animals are involved in the ivory trade?

Ivory trade. The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, African and Asian elephants . Ivory has been traded for hundreds of years by people in regions such as Greenland, Alaska, and Siberia.

What kind of material are elephant tusks made of?

Ivory is the hard, white material that some animals’ teeth and tusks are made from. It is not only found in elephant tusks, but also in some other animals like hippopotamuses and some whales. For hundreds of years, ivory has been considered a valuable material.