By: D.K. Choudhary
China to Ban Ivory Trade and Processing Activities by the end of 2017
i. China on December 30, 2016, announced a plan to ban all ivory trade and processing activities by the end of 2017, to prevent the mass killing and threat of extinction of African elephants.
ii. The Chinese State Council’s plan to end the ivory trade will be carried out over the course of the year. It will first force a select group of legal ivory processing factories and business to close by March 31, 2017 and gradually will completely stop the processing and sales of ivories for commercial purposes by the end of 2017.
iii. The plan also involves strict regulation of legal ivory collection, strengthening enforcement and education and “vigorously” pushing for a transformation of the ivory carving industry.
iv. The plan also involves encouraging ivory carving masters to find work with museums or in preservation efforts.
v. The government will no longer allow ivory products to be displayed in real or online markets only noncommercial sites, such as museums, will be allowed to display ivory.
vi. According to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature report, more than 20,000 Elephants are killed for their tusks each year, with much of the markets designated in China, Hong Kong, and the United States.
