The international ivory trade in five shocking statistics

The UK will enact “one of the world’s toughest bans” on ivory sales in an attempt to save elephants, Environment Secretary Michael Gove said.

in a bid to reduce poaching, the sale of ivory of any age will be banned, with limited exceptions. Anyone found guilty of breaching the ban will face a maximum penalty of an unlimited fine or up to five years in jail.

Gove said: “Ivory should never be seen as a commodity for financial gain or a status symbol, so we will introduce one of the world's toughest bans on ivory sales to protect elephants for future generations.

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"The ban on ivory sales we will bring into law will reaffirm the UK's global leadership on this critical issue, demonstrating our belief that the abhorrent ivory trade should become a thing of the past."

Exemptions will be made for “rare and important items” that are at least 100 years old, items made before 1947 that contain less than 10% ivory and musical instruments with less than 20% ivory made before 1975, Sky News reports.

Gove’s announcement, which is yet to be signed into law, comes after a public consultation found 88% of the 70,000 responses backed a ban.

“The number of wild elephants has dropped by almost a third in the last decade alone and around 20,000 are still being slaughtered for their tusks each year,” says The Independent.

Matthew Hatchwell, director of conservation at the Zoological Society of London, called on other nations to follow the UK’s lead, saying “it is vital that countries take significant steps such as those outlined by the UK government today to close their markets and help make the trade in ivory a thing of the past.”

Here are five statistics about the ivory trade:

Infographic by www.statista.com for TheWeek.co.uk