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[Majine]

Good news I guess, but I wonder how late it is.

China has committed to phasing out the domestic manufacture and sale of ivory products for the first time. Conservation groups said the announcement was “the single greatest measure” in the fight to save the last African elephants from poaching.

At an event in Beijing where foreign diplomats witnessed 662kg of confiscated ivory being symbolically destroyed, Zhao Shucong, head of China’s State Forestry Administration, said: “We will strictly control ivory processing and trade until the commercial processing and sale of ivory and its products are eventually halted.”

This is the first time China has committed to phase out its legal, domestic ivory industry. Lo Sze Ping, CEO of WWF’s China division applauded the Chinese government’s strengthening resolve to reduce demand in the world’s biggest market for trafficked ivory.

“This decision will have a profound impact on wild elephant conservation and ivory trafficking” he said.

Peter Knights, the executive director of anti-trafficking group WildAid, said the announcement was significant but he would be waiting to see whether the pledge was delivered. China did not set a timescale for the phase-out.

“In our recent survey, 95% of Chinese supported a total ban on ivory sales. This would be the next logical step for China, as well as the greatest single measure to reduce poaching in Africa,” said Knights.

Cutting consumer demand in China is seen as essential to stopping the loss of Africa’s last elephants to poaching, but progress has been slow. Since a ban on the international ivory trade in 1989, it is estimated China has seized more than 40 tonnes of ivory.

The stockpile is released to licensed carving factories and then sold legally in markets across the country. But conservation groups say this supports demand for black market tusks from freshly killed elephants.

This week, it was announced that Mozambique had lost half its population of 20,000 elephants in just five years. In Africa more than 22,000 elephants are killed for their tusks each year.

Zhou Fei, head of wildlife trade monitoring group Traffic’s China branch, said: “The decision to phase out China’s ivory market as well as today’s destruction of the seized ivory are powerful indications of the government’s commitment to support international action against elephant poaching and the illegal ivory trade.”

John Scanlon, secretary-general of Cites, the body that regulates all international trade in listed species, said in a message read at the event that he was “most encouraged” by developments in China. But that “the poaching of African elephants and the illegal trade in their ivory continues to be driven by transnational organised criminals and, in some cases, rebel militia at an industrial scale and it is one of the most destructive forms of wildlife crime”.

The phase-out of domestic ivory was part of a 10-point plan announced by Zhao. It also included stricter policing of the illegal wildlife trade both on and offline, renewed efforts to deflate demand through public campaigns and a commitments to international cooperation.

The announcement comes less than two months before bilateral trade talks between the US and China - the world’s two largest markets for illegal ivory. There is an ongoing dialogue between China and the US on combatting the illegal ivory trade. Conservation groups are hopeful talks will eventually produce a coordinated international response to the crisis.

On Thursday customs police in Hangzhou unveiled 270kg of ivory artworks and 9kg of rhino horn captured by an anti-smuggling operation that has been running in the city since June 2014.

The crush follows a larger one in January 2014, when the government destroyed 6.1 tonnes of elephant tusks. The government of Hong Kong has also committed to burning 28 tonnes of its ivory stockpile in monthly burns of one tonne each – the first tonne was destroyed a year ago.

In January, ahead of a visit to a Chinese elephant sanctuary by Prince William, China banned the import of carved ivory for 12 months.

The symbolic destruction of ivory has been practiced in many countries for more than 25 years. In recognition of the global trade ban on ivory in 1989 Kenya burned a 12 tonne pile of seized tusks. In April, the UAE crushed 10 tonnes of contraband. Some critics believe the actions do more harm than good as they create an impression of scarcity, driving the price higher.

Zhou said the destruction of ivory stockpiles was only useful if it was backed by concrete measures to combat the smuggling networks and reduce demand among the Chinese public.

“Ivory destructions should not be an end in themselves - any such events should be followed by actions to ensure countries continue to comply with their international commitments under Cites to shut down the illegal ivory trade,” he said.

Source

 

[Chanser]

Don't believe them, they'll still sell them no matter what.

 

[Stet]

Our plan is to slowly lower the amount of ivory that we sell as the populations deplete and our prices rise, until eventually we sell absolutely no ivory and there are no elephants left.

 

[HUELEN10]

Stupid question, but I am ignorant on how it works; why can't they just harvest the tusks of already dead elephants? The ivory doesn't go bad after it dies for a while, right?

 

[kswiston]

Stupid question, but I am ignorant on how it works; why can't they just harvest the tusks of already dead elephants? The ivory doesn't go bad after it dies for a while, right?

They can, but elephants live 50-60 years in the wild, so the annual death rate of adults with tusks would be quite low. People want that ivory money now.

EDIT: Russians sell ivory derived from mammoth tusks that they pull out of the frozen Siberian permafrost. Those tusks are 5-10k years old.

 

[Tagyhag]

In our recent survey, 95% of Chinese supported a total ban on ivory sales.

I find that hard to believe, seems like too many for a market that's still so lucrative.

But hey, good news if they actually mean what they say.

 

[Oppo]

Stupid question, but I am ignorant on how it works; why can't they just harvest the tusks of already dead elephants? The ivory doesn't go bad after it dies for a while, right?

not a high enough (industrial-scale) death rate to make the poachers happy.

I am all for taking a pretty shady tactic on this: cause a fake media panic convincing users of traditional medicine with ivory and rhino horn that they have been poisoned and people are dying. just straight up lie to them.

 

[kswiston]

I find that hard to believe, seems like too many for a market that's still so lucrative.

But hey, good news if they actually mean what they say.

5% of China is 65 million people.

 

[Antiwhippy]

I find that hard to believe, seems like too many for a market that's still so lucrative.

But hey, good news if they actually mean what they say.

5% of china is like 70 million people.

 

[Prophet Steve]

I find that hard to believe, seems like too many for a market that's still so lucrative.

But hey, good news if they actually mean what they say.

I can imagine this would be more of a product popular with higher incomes. Which is plenty of a market.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

This is a few decades late

 

[AuthenticM]

Couldn't we just harvest the ivory from elephants without killing them ?

 

[bengraven]

China to triple ivory black market values to fight anti-poaching.

 

[kswiston]

Couldn't we just harvest the ivory from elephants without killing them ?

Elephant tusks aren't just decorations. They use them to forage and protect themselves.

 

[GK86]

After it has lead to the (almost) extinction of some animals? Good shit, China.

 

[Alucrid]

Couldn't we just harvest the ivory from elephants without killing them ?

okay lets chop off your hands and let you go on with life

 

[Lys Skygge]

A bit late for that no?

 

[Antiwhippy]

The announcement comes less than two months before bilateral trade talks between the US and China - the world’s two largest markets for illegal ivory.

Actually this bit surprised me. I thought the 2 biggest markets are china and thailand?

 

[LQX]

Not at all impressed or is this praise worthy as the damage as already been done. Way too late. And "phase out"? No, fucking ban it.

 

[kswiston]

Not at all impressed or is this praise worthy as the damage as already been done. Way too late. And "phase out"? No, fucking ban it.

There are still 700 000 African elephants left in the wild. They are not that high up on the list of endangered species, but could be if we don't start protecting them now.

Also, over 1000 park rangers were murdered by poachers in 2013 alone. If people don't care about elephants, they should think about all the ruined lives/families that come out of the ivory trade.

 

[Decado]

When are they going to stomp out all that bullshit with tiger bones?

 

[TemplaerDude]

Yo bit too late on that one, China.

 

[Tagyhag]

5% of China is 65 million people.

True, and like the other gaffer said it would be regarding people with higher income.

But that still leaves like 1.3 billion people who want this banned and it hasn't happened already?

 

[Armaros]

Smh, much that it does now for the many species that are basically past the point of no return.

Should have been years ago.

 

[BigDug13]

And what about shark fins?

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

We should start cloning elepehants and Rhinos as much as we can. Let's go Clone Army on them, and put them everywhere on earth. Lets put 100,000 of them in Australia. See what happens. They probably won't ruin the areas.

 

[AuthenticM]

Elephant tusks aren't just decorations. They use them to forage and protect themselves.

okay lets chop off your hands and let you go on with life

Sure, but it's still better than death. Would it be so hard for poachers to tranquilize the elephants instead of killing them ? If I were an asshole poachers, I'd do that.

 

[titiklabingapat]

Stupid question, but I am ignorant on how it works; why can't they just harvest the tusks of already dead elephants? The ivory doesn't go bad after it dies for a while, right?

You still create a market for it, even with the use of already dead elephants. This gives an incentive for the not-so desireable people to kill elephants illegally. So long as there is a market for it, the black market alongside it will continue to exist.

 

[super-heated plasma]

Here's a strange thought but why not set up ivory farms? Its detestable but surely better than the alternative of letting them go extinct.

 

[titiklabingapat]

Here's a strange thought but why not set up ivory farms? Its detestable but surely better than the alternative of letting them go extinct.

If elephants were so easy and/or economical to domesticate, we would have done it by now.

 

[davepoobond]

Too late. Also ivory still gets illegally sold here so I doubt it'll save the elephants.

 

[jelly]

Here's a strange thought but why not set up ivory farms? Its detestable but surely better than the alternative of letting them go extinct.

I don't think they grow back and it's unfair on them in the wild.

It's sad that measures to protect them aren't enough. Banning and shaming owning Ivory is one part of a solution.

On another note, I read the other day Japan has stopped that sickening Dolphin killing were they round them up and basically club them to death.

China aren't alone but they have some truly odd tastes that will wipe out species and they protect Pandas who would rather go extinct. Lots of countries have bad history but we shouldn't continue down the same paths. Might just be the few but it's a sad state of affairs that species could disappear forever for some stupid medicine, trophy/household item or for fun.

 

[Alucrid]

Sure, but it's still better than death. Would it be so hard for poachers to tranquilize the elephants instead of killing them ? If I were an asshole poachers, I'd do that.

yes it would be hard because tranqing an elephant isn't any near as easy as shooting an elephant with bullets. it would also require poaches to give a fuck.

 

[tattooed_dwarf]

A bit late for that no?

So nothing should be done? Or was more of a rhetorical question?

These "too late" comments are weird.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Elephants are the most incredible animals in the world so anything that helps conserve them is good.