Elephants Get a Reprieve as Price of Ivory Falls
According to a report released on Wednesday by Save the Elephants, a respected wildlife group in Kenya, the
price of ivory is less than half of what it was just three years ago, showing that demand is plummeting.
The price of ivory in China, the world’s biggest market for elephant tusks, has fallen
sharply, which may spell a reprieve from the intense poaching of the past decade.
"There is still a long way to go to end the excessive killing of elephants for ivory,
but there is now greater hope for the species." Elephants have been slaughtered by the thousands in recent years in what appeared to be an insatiable quest for ivory.
Iain Douglas-Hamilton said that We must give credit to China for having done the right thing,
According to Save the Elephants, the wholesale price of an elephant tusk was $2,100 a kilogram in 2014.
According to the report, China plans to shut ivory factories at the end of this month and close all retail outlets by the end of the year.