Poaching war gets boost after Hong Kong bans ivory trade

Kenya has received a major boost in its bid to protect its pricey wildlife after Hong Kong, a top market for elephant and rhino trophies, agreed to phase out ivory trade.

The city’s chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, Wednesday announced plans to enact legislation banning import and export of ivory.

The announcement came as a pleasant surprise to Kenya, which has been leading a coalition of African States opposed to ivory trade.

“This is critical for Africa. It means that thousands of African elephants will be saved,” Paul Udoto, the Kenya Wildlife Service spokesperson told the Business Daily.

Hong Kong has been a major transit point for illegal ivory from Africa to the Far East markets including China.

Its proposed ban on ivory trade comes months after China, the world’s largest consumer of ivory, also agreed to a similar move. The trade is expected to be outlawed later this year in the Far East economy.

It is estimated that more than 30,000 elephants are killed for their tusks every year in Africa.

Ivory symbolises wealth in the Far East and it is also believed to cure some ailments.

International organised crime groups have turned Kenya into a major source and transit route for elephant tusks and rhino horns, with the proceeds being used to fund other criminal activities like terrorism.

Experts believe that nearly 100 elephants are gunned down each day across Africa to supply thriving illegal ivory markets.

Conservationists say poaching and conflict have destroyed large numbers of African elephants in the wild, prompting experts to warn that the species could be wiped out within decades.