Illegal ivory imports flourish in the United States – report

THE HAGUE – The large quantity of illegal worked ivory entering the United States from China and Japan is a sign of the strong demand that is contributing to an alarming increase in elephant poaching in Africa, a conservation group said on Tuesday.

“There is more worked ivory for sale in the US than anywhere else in the world, except for Hong Kong,” said Care for the Wild International, which surveyed thousands of retail outlets in 14 US cities last year and this year. The group presented its findings at The Hague meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), widely credited with stemming the slaughter of the African elephant by imposing a ban on international ivory trade in 1989.The ivory trade came to a virtual halt after the ban, but has since revived.Experts say the killing of elephants for their tusks, mainly in central Africa, has reached levels not seen since 1989 because of Asian-run crime syndicates.China, Japan and Thailand, where possessing ivory objects is a matter of prestige, are the most important markets for illicit shipments from Africa, wildlife trade monitor TRAFFIC said in a report last month.Care for the Wild International, which worked with ivory trade experts Esmond Martin and Daniel Stiles, said illegal worked ivory was imported into the United States by individuals and through the Internet.Nampa-ReutersThe group presented its findings at The Hague meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), widely credited with stemming the slaughter of the African elephant by imposing a ban on international ivory trade in 1989.The ivory trade came to a virtual halt after the ban, but has since revived.Experts say the killing of elephants for their tusks, mainly in central Africa, has reached levels not seen since 1989 because of Asian-run crime syndicates.China, Japan and Thailand, where possessing ivory objects is a matter of prestige, are the most important markets for illicit shipments from Africa, wildlife trade monitor TRAFFIC said in a report last month.Care for the Wild International, which worked with ivory trade experts Esmond Martin and Daniel Stiles, said illegal worked ivory was imported into the United States by individuals and through the Internet.Nampa-Reuters