Gove to announce ban on sale of ivory in UK
Tighter rules on sales to protect elephants is a victory for Duke of Cambridge’s campaign
Michael Gove will announce today that the sale of ivory in Britain will be banned in a bid to stop the “abhorrent” slaughter of elephants, in a victory for a campaign backed by the Duke of Cambridge. The ban will cover ivory items of all ages, and anyone who breaches it could face up to five years in jail. Mr Gove said the ban would be “one of the world’s toughest” and it is hoped it will help protect elephant numbers, with about 20,000 animals a year still slaughtered for their ivory.
THE sale of ivory in Britain will be banned in a bid to stop the “abhorrent” slaughter of elephants, Michael Gove will announce today in a victory for a campaign backed by the Duke of Cambridge. The ban will cover ivory items of all ages and anyone who breaches it could face an unlimited fine or up to five years in jail.
Mr Gove, the Environment Secretary, said the ban would be “one of the world’s toughest” and it is hoped it will help protect elephant numbers, which have declined by almost a third in the last decade with about 20,000 a year still slaughtered for their ivory.
The ban will contain exemptions to allow the sale of certain items that contain ivory but have been deemed not to contribute to the poaching of elephants. Wildlife campaigners welcomed the move to prohibit sales but also warned coordinated global action would be needed to dismantle the ivory trade and put a stop to poaching.
The Duke of Cambridge has been a vocal critic of the illegal ivory trade and in February he urged the shipping industry to close down transport routes used by ivory smugglers.
The Duke has been the Royal Patron of Tusk, the conservation charity, since 2005 and Charlie Mayhew, the organisation’s chief executive, said the ban would send a “clear message” that the illegal wildlife trade would not be tolerated. He said: “We are delighted that the Government has listened to our concerns and given the overwhelming public response to their consultation is now moving decisively to introduce tough legislation to ban the trade in ivory in the UK.
“The narrowly defined exemptions are pragmatic. The ban will ensure there is no value for modern day ivory and the tusks of recently poached elephants cannot enter the UK market.”
The Government received more than 70,000 responses to its consultation on banning UK sales of ivory with almost nine in 10 responses in favour of the ban. Ministers have insisted the exemptions have been “carefully targeted” to allow the sale of certain items.
For example, items that are less than 10 per cent ivory by volume and which were made before 1947 will be exempt from the ban as will musical instruments with an ivory content of less than 20 per cent, made before 1975.
Other items assessed as being rare and more than a century old could also still be sold.
Mr Gove said: “Ivory should never be seen as a commodity for financial gain or a status symbol, so we will introduce one of the world’s toughest bans on ivory sales to protect elephants for future generations.
“The ban on ivory sales will reaffirm the UK’S global leadership on this critical issue, demonstrating our belief that the abhorrent ivory trade should become a thing of the past.”
Tanya Steele, of the World Wide Fund for Nature, said: “This ban makes the UK a global leader in tackling this bloody trade and it’s something WWF has been fighting hard for.”