The Ivory Act in the UK Could be Expanded to Cover More Vulnerable Species
A consultation is currently taking place in the U.K. government about whether or not to extend the ban on trading ivory to include other species aside from elephants. The Ivory Act, which is already one of the toughest legislations surrounding ivory in the world, could potentially include hippos, walruses, narwhals, killer whales and sperm whales as well if the plans are put into place.
Hippo. Photo by Sean Crane
The ivory trade has caused a strain on populations of certain species for many years now, the most notable being the African elephant. Between 1979 and 1989, half of all of the elephants in Africa were lost to the trade, but there has been a resurgence in the popularity of ivory in recent years, with the population of forest elephants, a subspecies of African elephants, being reduced by 62% between 2002 and 2011. The popularity of ivory comes mainly from China, where it is illegal to sell or buy ivory products, meaning people have to travel abroad to buy these products from countries that have lesser restrictions. Therefore, other countries are being encouraged to introduce similar laws, so that ivory tourists do not have alternative options.
Walruses. Photo by Jeff Higdon
The U.K.’s original proposition for the ivory ban came in 2018. It was released after consultation within the government and also with the people of the U.K., where members of the public and wildlife organisations were invited to submit their opinions on banning all sales of ivory and ivory products from elephants. 87.6 percent of participants in the discussion supported the ban, although some of them had issues with the proposed exemptions to the ban. The exemptions listed are items with less than 10 percent ivory in them that were made before 1947, musical instruments with less than 20 percent ivory in them made before 1975, rare and important items that are at least 100 years old, and commercial activities engaged in by museums.
Narwhals. Photo by Paul Nicklen
Of course, this ban will greatly help the population of African elephants, but there are a lot of other animals that are poached for ivory that could be put at risk if their plight is ignored. Of these, hippos, sperm whales and walruses are already officially vulnerable, which is the same level of endangerment that African elephants are at. Narwhals and killer whales are not yet vulnerable or endangered, but they should not be ignored, for if the new trend follows the pattern of elephants, their numbers could drop dramatically in the following years.
The new proposition puts forward three options: the Act could stay as it is, with the ban only applying to elephant ivory, it could be altered to include hippos as well, or it could be altered to include all of the animals that have been mentioned. Surely, in a world where the actions of humans have sent so many animals to the brink of extinction, it is our responsibility to protect the ones that still have a chance of survival. If we keep the ban restricted to only elephants, or even just to elephants and hippos, it will give ivory buyers no option but to search for alternatives, therefore endangering the unprotected species even further, leading them to become vulnerable or endangered. This would be incredibly regrettable, and the government would have to change legislation again to make up for their lack of foresight.
Overall, these proposed changes would be incredibly advantageous for the animals involved in the ivory trade, and hopefully, they will be made official in the near future. The British public and organisations involved in the debate continue to call for stricter restrictions, and other countries following the U.K.’s lead would be the best possible outcome.
