Australia is no longer promising to ban domestic trade of elephant ivory
Despite a promise made seven years ago, Australia has failed to implement a ban on the domestic trade of elephant ivory. A recent study found that nearly all ivory items listed for sale online lack documentation proving they were legally sourced.
Why it matters
The lack of enforcement in the domestic ivory trade undermines global conservation efforts to protect endangered elephant species from poaching.
Elephant ivory is being traded domestically in Australia amid international calls to ban the practice. ( ABC News: Alexandria Utting )
There is no domestic ivory ban in Australia despite a promise seven years ago to create one.
Roughly $1.2 million worth of elephant ivory objects were advertised in Australia in just six months last year.
A new study found less than 1 per cent of the objects were advertised with documentation proving their legality.
Link copied Share Share article You can't sell a feather from a native bird without a permit in most parts of Australia.
But you can sell elephant ivory, through social media, without proof it has been ethically sourced.
That is despite African and Asian elephant species being in danger of extinction from poaching for their tusks.
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