China Stops Its Legal Trade of Ivory. For a long time, China was one of the world’s largest traders of ivory, but that is changing now. From this year onwards, trade is also illegal in China.
The decision is important for the conservation and protection of elephants. Elephants are killed for the ivory of the tusks. According to nature conservationists, 30,000 African elephants are killed every year.
In China, ivory is mainly a status symbol and products of the tusks are given a lot of gift to business relations. In addition, ivory is also used a lot of medicines in China. Not to cure diseases, but preventively. For example, ivory would increase the potential.
67 factories and shops trading in ivory were already closed. The remaining 105 closed the doors yesterday. In the run-up to the ban, China launched a campaign with well-known Chinese stars, including basketball player Yao Ming.