China says it will shut down ivory trade by end of 2017

[Zorro]

Source: AP

China says it plans to shut down its ivory trade by the end of 2017 in a move designed to curb the mass slaughter of African elephants.

The Chinese government will end the processing and selling of ivory and ivory products by the end of March as it phases out the legal trade, according to a statement released on Friday.

China had previously announced it planned to shut down the commercial trade, which conservationists described as significant because China's vast, increasingly affluent consumer market drives much of the elephant poaching across Africa.

"This is a game changer for Africa's elephants," said Aili Kang, the Asia director for the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-says-shut-down-ivory-trade-end-2017-171154298.html

[HoneyBadger]

1. There is a loophole

I have a piano with ivory keys. Was told that if I need to repair a key that I can use mastodon. Huh. Apparently there is plenty of legal mastodon ivory on the market for roughly the same price as illegal elephant ivory. Sure there is......


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife-woolly-mammoth-ivory-trade-legal-china-african-elephant-poaching/

[Drahthaardogs]

6. You can buy jewelery from it as well

It is fairly common in artic regions of the world. I saw a big tusk in the tundra while floating the Yukon years ago

[Fast Walker 52]

9. huh, how sick

Is there any significant amount of true mastodon ivory going around, or is it a sick joke?

[Sunlei]

10. they dredge the shallow seas what used to be Beringa and all the coastal land areas....

covered with mammoth bones, including massive tusks. Back a few short thousands of years there must have been herds of millions of mammoths and horses, and some people, not millions but their tools survived and a few remains.

We're ice age animals! woohoo!

[NWCorona]

2. I wish the elephant was treated with the respect it deserves.

[Equinox Moon]

3. Africa Elephants 'ditch tusks' to survive

"They say elephants are losing their tusks as a rapid and effective evolutionary response to escape slaughter by ruthless and resourceful poachers who kill elephants for their ivory trophies."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/180301.stm

[NWCorona]

4. That's both sad and amazing

[turbinetree]

5. Lets think about this for one moment..................

the Poachers in Africa are decimating the elephant population, the bulls are being killed off for the ivory, this in turn drive the elephant population to have a weaker system , ie. the predominate male (bulls) are being killed


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/151017-zimbabwe-elephant-tusker-trophy-hunting-poaching-conservation-africa-ivory-trade/


so now the chinese want to wait until the "end " of 2017, what hypocrites, not only are they admitting to this travesty, but they want to wait, there are around 600,000 of these magnificent creatures left, at the last count there was over 1,3 million. But when it comes to the giant panda, they are all for the what exactly to save the species, talk about a double standard, or am I missing something here

This is just outrageous

[Hortensis]

7. None too soon, but great news anyway.

[jeffreyi]

8. Rhinos need the same

The need is urgent.
And those little scaley guys also