Parliament approves extension of UK’s Ivory Act
Born Free celebrates the addition inclusion of additional ivory-bearing species including hippos, narwhals, sperm whales and killer whales to the Act.
On 16th December, the House of Commons approved the Ivory Act 2018 (Meaning of “Ivory” and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2024, which extend the domestic restrictions on elephant ivory trade to hippo, narwhal, sperm whale and killer whale ivory and ivory products.
International trade in elephant ivory was effectively banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1989; however, the poaching of elephants across Africa has continued in order to supply legal and illegal domestic markets around the world, with devastating ongoing impacts on individual elephants and their populations.
Over recent years, an increasing number of countries have introduced restrictions on domestic elephant ivory trade, including key markets in China and the United States. The UK’s Ivory Act, which passed into law in 2018 and came into effect in June 2022, introduced some of the world’s strongest national restrictions on elephant ivory trade, with limited exemptions for certain items containing ivory. The UK was previously a major exporter of antique elephant ivory as well as allowing domestic trading, playing a role in the consumer demand for ivory products.
However, ivory isn’t just derived from elephants. The teeth and tusks from hippos, walruses, warthogs, and several toothed whale species, are also coveted and traded. The new regulations cover some of these species; trade in walrus ivory is already restricted under the Seal Products Regulations 2010.
From the outset, Born Free has argued that the provisions of the Ivory Act should be extended to include all ivory-bearing species. The secondary legislation required to do this was tabled by the previous government, but their adoption by Parliament was delayed by July’s General Election.
Responding to the news, Born Free’s Head of Policy Dr Mark Jones said: “We’re really pleased to see the extension of the Ivory Act to cover these additional species. While the Act is vital to our efforts to end elephant poaching, it’s important that we don’t inadvertently incentivise increased trade in ivory from other vulnerable species. Hippos in particular are targeted in large numbers for their ivory. We urge the authorities to ensure the provisions are strictly enforced, and that the situation for warthogs, who are not currently included, is kept under review.”
The new provisions come into force in early January.