China Shuts Down Ivory Trade, Wildlife Trafficking Continues

China deserves credit for shutting down the illegal trading in elephant ivory that has contributed in recent years to the killing of thousands of African pachyderms.

But much credit should also go to international nongovernment organizations that have championed the elephants’ cause and raised public awareness of it in China.

On Dec. 31, 2017, China, the world’s largest ivory market, banned all domestic ivory sales.

John Gruetzner, the managing director of Intercedent, a Toronto-based, Asian-focused investment advisory group, said that the Chinese government’s decision to halt the trade was partly “a response to global pressure, including pressure from the United States."

But, says Gruetzner, the decision also came as a result of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive as well as pushback from African nations.

According to Gruetzner, Chinese government indifference in recent years had permitted the carving of elephant ivory that contributed to the killing of some 33,000 African elephants a year.

Driving the demand for ivory in China have been members of a growing Chinese middle class who in the past could never have afforded to purchase carved ivory decorations. This was a luxury that was reserved in past generations for a rich minority.

Peter Knights, the CEO of WildAid, a San Francisco-based group, described China’s ban on ivory as “the greatest single step toward reducing elephant poaching.”

The announcement of the ban led almost immediately to the closing of 172 ivory-carving factories and retail shops in China.

Poaching in Kenya also went down from 390 elephants killed in 2013 to 46 reported last year, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service.

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