End the ivory trade

SIR – Andrea Leadsom, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, is right to say that wildlife is facing a global crisis (Comment, November 17).

With 100,000 elephants killed illegally for their ivory from 2010-12 alone, and tens of thousands killed every year since, action is urgently needed to save the species from further catastrophic losses.

As well as supporting global efforts, Britain must put its own house in order. The continued presence of ivory on British streets undermines the credibility of political efforts to end the illegal trade elsewhere. The Government’s latest proposals to tackle the trade will not apply to older ivory, which makes up the majority of the British market, and will do nothing to tackle the problem of modern ivory being illegally passed off as antique.

The only acceptable solution is a total ban on ivory sales.

Jonathan Baillie

Director of Conservation Programmes Zoological Society of London

John Stephenson

Chief Executive, Stop Ivory

Maria Mossman

Founder, Action for Elephants UK