The Dhaka Times Desk By 2017, China has announced a complete ban on the sale of ivory or the manufacture of ivory products.
Conservationists hailed the move as good news for elephants. According to the statement of the Chinese government, all domestic trade in ivory will be banned in China. Its sole purpose is to prevent the widespread and reckless killing of elephants in Africa.
"34 companies dealing in ivory and 143 ivory trading markets" will fall under the ban, Chinese news agency Xinhua quoted a government statement as saying. Among them, dozens of companies and institutions will be closed by March 2017. Before this deadline, law enforcement authorities will continue to crack down on all illegal activities related to ivory."
Beijing announced in March last year that the import ban would be extended to all ivory products harvested before 1975. In 1975, the International Convention on Over-Poaching and Exploitation of Wild Animals came into force. CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, banned the ivory trade in 1989.
The Chinese government has announced that it will continue to auction antique ivory items from legitimate sources, noting that ivory carving is an ancient cultural tradition in China. Many in China collect beautifully carved ivory 'antiques'.
Conservationists have long regarded China as the world's 'largest market' for illegal ivory trade.
So Eli Kang, director of the Asia region of New York-based wildlife conservation society WCS, said in a statement that China's move would "cut off one of the world's largest ivory markets." I am proud that my country has shown this leadership so that elephants will have a better chance of not becoming extinct."
"China's announcement is a game-changer for African elephants," Kang added. Animal rights activists estimate that more than 20,000 elephants were killed in Africa last year alone for their tusks.
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