Taiwan’s ban on the sale of ivory will take effect on January 1, 2020 to combat the plight of the African elephant
Taiwan News
Date: 2018/07/15
By: Scott Morgan, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
African elephant. (Image courtesy of Pxhere)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau said on July 13 that the ban on the sale of ivory will enter into force in 2020, in a measure to protect African elephants, who are illegally hunted for their tusks, reported CNA.
From January 1 2020, all ivory products will no longer be legally bought and sold, in-line with similar international bans.
Recent years have seen increased momentum towards the absolute ban in ivory sales. The 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 2016, was rife with calls for all countries to close their domestic ivory market, in the face of declining African elephant populations.
According to the “African Elephant Status Report 2016” published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the total population of African elephants has decreased from 508,000 in 2006 to 415,000 in 2015.
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