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.China is the world's largest consumer of Ivory.
The recent destruction of tusks and carved ivory follows another ivory destruction event which was held in Guangdong, China, in January 2015. Then 6.15 tons of confiscated ivory were crushed, sending a clear message to poachers and illegal traders that such activities would no longer be tolerated.
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 move follows China's decision earlier this year to impose a one-year ban on ivory imports in an effort to reduce illegal trading. Since 1989's international ivory trade ban, China has seized around 90,600 pounds of ivory, according to National Geographic.
At the event, Zhao outlined a 10-point plan to fight poaching, including stricter policing of wildlife trade online and offline, and running campaigns to discourage public demand, The Guardian reports. A report this April found more than 500 instances of illegal ivory for sale online over a four-day period on Craigslist alone.
As much as 70 percent of the world's illegal ivory goes to China, where it is seen as a status symbol for a rising middle class, according to a report in The New York Times. The demand for ivory in China is high, so part of phasing out the industry will have to include lowering consumer demand. A recent survey by the anti-trafficking group WildAid found 95 percent of respondents in China's three largest cities — Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou — support an end to the country's ivory industry.
