Washington Moves Bill to Ban Sale of Ivory to Congress

​​worldanimalnews.com/breaking-washington-d-c-passes-law-to-ban-the-sale-of-ivory-bill-moves-to-congress-for-final-approval/

A law to ban the sale of ivory in Washington has moved to congress for final approval. The law would make it illegal to sell ivory from rhinos or elephants helping to stop the surge of ivory products that are in transit within the district. Despite federal restrictions on ivory, there are loopholes that do not address individual states and their commerce of ivory leaving opportunities for the marke to flourish.

An investigation from the Humane Society of the United States turned up evidence of the extent of the ivory industry within the district. Dozens of ivory products available including a full elephant tusk which retailed at $600, 000. The investigation proved that despite federal limitations on the industry, it is evidently thriving in areas where these restrictions are loose and not implemented fully. That's why a ban on the ivory industry altogether is the only way to ensure it is shut down entirely.

To me, it is alarming that there are still countries, states, cities etc., that are continuing to permit the sale of ivory despite overwhelming evidence that rhinos and elephants are under intense pressure to survive. In fact, there are approximately 30 - 40 thousand rhinos left on this planet and 40 - 50 thousand elephants roaming in the wild. We aren't talking millions here, we're talking tens of thousands of these beautiful creatures left in the wild which without our help, will dwindle down to extinction.

Elephants and rhinos both face an array of problems in the wild that are detrimental to their survival without even factoring in the ivory market. Habitat loss, fragmentation, agriculture conflicts, illegal poaching, and trophy hunting are all contributing to the demise of these animals. When you consider that all of these situations are human derived, it should come as no surprise that the ivory industry falls within the same category. Humans will take any opportunity to profit off of animals and at any cost. Elephants and rhinos both face extinction if serious measures to protect them are not put in to place and the ivory industry is one of the first things that needs to go.

Ivory is a novelty product designed only to make humans rich at the expense of endangered animals. Ivory is not a necessary product therefore it is something that we must ban on a global level to protect rhinos and elephants. Black markets will always exist but we need to quash the legal aspect of things to effectively tackle the black market. Same rules apply to trophy hunting in my opinion. One cannot argue that they are aiding in conservation of a species by paying large amounts of money to shoot these animals dead, there is no bigger example of hypocrisy.

The ivory market needs to go, plain and simple. If we are to see elephants and rhinos in our future, we need to act aggressively in banning things that work towards their extinction and that includes the ivory market. I strongly hope that this bill immediately passes congress and becomes law. Elephants and rhinos depend on these bans for their survival.

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