UK ivory ban extension comes into force
Born Free celebrates as the UK Ivory Act extension enforces a near total ban on the import, export and selling of hippo, narwhal, sperm whale and orca ivory.
You’ve been with us every step of our campaign and thankfully, from today, it’s now illegal to sell ivory from hippopotamus, narwhal, sperm whale and orca (also known as killer whale), unless items meet narrow exemption criteria. Dealing in ivory from these species is now subject to the same restrictions as elephant ivory, which came into force under the Ivory Act in June 2022, after years of Born Free campaigning.
All four additional species are listed under the United Nations’ Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), with hippo and sperm whale also categorised as ‘Vulnerable to extinction’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
While this ivory forms a significantly smaller part of the UK ivory trade than that from elephants, extending the Ivory Act to non-elephant ivory-bearing species should help improve the enforcement of the Act. It will reduce the opportunity for illegally-obtained elephant ivory to be covertly sold – by disguising it as being from another ivory-bearing species. For hippos, there are further concerns that demand for their ivory may increase in response to elephant ivory bans, increasing pressure on wild populations.
The new regulations aim to reduce the ‘commodification’ of ivory products (turning them into items that can be bought or sold), so do not prohibit owners from keeping, gifting or bequeathing their ivory items.
While walrus was originally considered among the species to be added to the Ivory Act, walrus ivory will continue to be restricted under existing seal products legislation (ie products from seals, walruses and sea lions including fur, blubber, tusks or oil). However, warthogs were not considered for this extension.
While both species of warthog are listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, trade in warthog products is not currently regulated under CITES and their populations are decreasing. Therefore, the ongoing trade in their tusks in the UK needs to be closely monitored to ensure they are not being targeted as substitutes for elephant ivory.
Extending the Act further to cover ivory from extinct species including mammoths also needs to be considered. While mammoths have been extinct for thousands of years, tonnes of mammoth tusks preserved in the Siberian permafrost are harvested and traded each year. Mammoth and elephant ivory can look very similar, and may need to be distinguished by experts. Therefore, there is concern that continuing to allow the trade in mammoth ivory will enable illegal traders to launder ivory from elephants by disguising it as mammoth ivory.
“Encouragingly, our recent investigations into the online ivory trade suggest that the Ivory Act has significantly reduced the number of elephant ivory items being listed on popular auction websites,” said Born Free’s Policy Support Officer Frankie Osuch. “So there appears to be a high level of compliance with the Act and its exemption criteria. We hope that today’s extension will further strengthen the Ivory Act and we’ll continue to monitor its impact.”
Born Free has been campaigning for decades to protect wild animals from trade, and we were instrumental in securing the UK’s Ivory Act, which introduced some of the toughest restrictions globally. We would like to thank our supporters for being with us for every step of our long campaign.