The Ivory Trade and Never Ending War Against Poaching.

2017, will be remembered as the year China, the biggest consumer of ivory goods, banned legal ivory trading. The Chinese government is already taking steps in the right direction and has shut down nearly half of its licensed ivory facilities. On a global scale, the ivory trade has been banned since 1989, but some countries have continued to permit internal domestic trading. Until recently, China was the biggest one of them. Actions of this kind are necessary, since the gentle giants of our planet are in more danger than ever, with less than 500 thousand of them roaming the heir natural habitats.
Elephants have been killed for their tusks for centuries. However, what was once an infrequent act to retrieve the tusks for religious ceremonies or for their ‘healing properties’, became a lucrative industry alongside the rise of colonialism. Wealthy nations loved ivory, a substance that can be carved into the most intricate designs without splitting or decaying. Owning ivory became a status symbol and a way to demonstrate one’s wealth. Going on safaris to see elephants and the mass production of ivory goods became common practice, that involved the massacre of many of these creatures. In 1800, there were 26 million elephants. Today there are less than half a million.

