Ivory Sales - March 2021 by Catherine Bearder

8 Mar 2021

In October 2018 the UK hosted amid much fanfare a conference to discuss the illegal wildlife trade and the flagship announcement from Mr Gove, then SoS for the Environment was to announce a ban on all ivory sales in the UK
https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/london-conference-on-the-illegal-wildlife-trade-2018
Great news indeed.

It's the market for ivory that is driving the poaching, and Europe is not only a transit route for ivory, but is also a market with a 2018 report showing that three quarters of all ivory bought and sold across the EU was illegal
https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/most-ivory-bought-in-europe-is-illegal-investigation-finds/

So to be the trail blazers on stopping all sales of ivory (including ivory from hippos, which are now being targeted too) was good news, but still despite this receiving huge support from public and Parliament, the act has not yet been brought into law. So we are still wondering why.

Responding to a parliamentary question this January the minister replied "The Government is committed to bringing the world leading Ivory Act into force ... We plan to publish this consultation shortly."

Catherine Bearder, former Lib Dem MEP and long time campaigner against poaching and trophy hunting says
"the gangs are still killing elephants and moving the ivory through Europe, even in the pandemic.
There is still ivory being bought and sold on line, and we know much of it recently killed. There is no excuse for not getting this law into force immediately."

by Catherine Bearder

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