United Kingdom, Taiwan announce they will introduce elephant ivory bans

Two more nations this week announced their decision to come down hard on commercial sales of elephant ivory, further strengthening the global campaign to save these gentle giants from poachers and wildlife traffickers.

On Tuesday, the United Kingdom said it will introduce what Prime Minister Teresa May described as “one of the toughest bans on ivory sales in the world.” On the same day, on the other side of the world, the government of Taiwan announced its intention to ban all commercial sales of ivory products, starting 2020.

Britain’s announcement follows a swell of public opinion against elephant ivory — when the U.K. government solicited public input last December, 88 percent of respondents supported a ban on ivory sales. HSI sent a detailed submission to the government on behalf of 19,623 of our supporters who agreed that only the strictest regulation would be acceptable. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, a vocal proponent of the ivory ban, applauded the public support, stating that it is “vitally important that we reverse the tragic decline in elephant populations.”

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