On Thursday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced new laws that will impose a near-total ban on the commercial sale of elephant ivory, which is the culmination of President Obama’s 2013 executive order helping to combat the trafficking and trade in endangered animals in the U.S.
Prior to this near-total ban on ivory, restrictions in the U.S. allowed for the sale of elephant ivory if it was brought into the U.S. before the animal was listed as endangered or if the elephant had died of natural causes. These rules, however, didn’t do much to stem the flow of illegal ivory in the U.S., as, according to the Guardian , they “ merely provided cover to the poachers fuelling an illegal trade.”
Big news! Announcing the near-total ban on commercial trade of African elephant ivory in US: https://t.co/owLAb2bBfM pic.twitter.com/CAXKrqHbEV
— U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (@USFWS) June 2, 2016
The new rules imposing a near-total ban on the commercial ivory trade state that only antique items made of ivory, such as figurines, or chess pieces more than 100-years-old or items containing very little ivory like pianos containing 200 grams or less of the substance, may be bought and sold within the U.S. The latter is of particular importance to Heather Noonan, the vice president for advocacy at the League of American Orchestras, who pointed out that until now, musicians carrying instruments made with ivory on international flights often ran into problems.
“We are so pleased. We’re particularly pleased that the rule confirms that domestic trade and international travel with existing musical instruments that contain small amounts of African elephant ivory aren’t contributing to the poaching crisis.”
The poaching of African elephants for the ivory has worsened over the years despite countries attempting to fight the illegal trade. According to experts, an estimated 96 elephants are killed every single day for their ivory tusks, which is then sold across Asia and the Americas. The U.S. is the second most popular country for the illegal sale of ivory, behind only China.
???Today marks a huge step in the US ban on ivory! 96 elephants are killed each day for ivory. #savetheelephants ??? pic.twitter.com/JjUsQeWVYb
— Jack Hilgert (@JackHilgert) June 2, 2016
These new restrictions on the illegal sale of ivory come after a 2013 executive order by President Obama in an attempt to put an end to the illegal trade of ivory in the U.S. The order helped fund training for African police forces and wildlife rangers, who often found themselves out-manned and out-gunned by poachers and trafficking gangs who recklessly slaughtered elephants for their ivory and rhinos for their tusks.
Following the near-total ban on ivory, U.S. officials plan to visit Beijing next week in the hopes of putting a stop to the global ivory trade as a whole. Chinese officials have already agreed to further restrict the ivory trade in their country, and the meeting between U.S. and Chinese delegates will be to figure out strategic and economic planning to put new laws in place, reports the New York Times .
Patrick Garrigan, the chief executive of the African Wildlife Foundation and an adviser to the Obama administration’s trafficking task force, says these new laws are “absolutely critical,” particularly where conservation is concerned, as the sale of illegal ivory in the U.S. and elsewhere has almost reversed conservation efforts since the initial ban on the commercial trade of ivory was put into place in 1989.
“Strong laws around wildlife crime and strong enforcement of those laws are absolutely critical in deterring traffickers and poachers, and each country has an obligation to review and strengthen its laws, close loopholes and otherwise simplify the role of law enforcement in combating the illegal wildlife trade.”
With a near-total ban on the trade of ivory in place in the U.S., it is the hope of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that other countries where commercial trade in ivory is popular, such as China, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam, will soon follow suit.
[Photo by Karel Prinsloo/AP Images]
