No trade, no killing of elephants
Updated: 2016-03-23 07:09
(China Daily)
|
|||||||||
A herd of elephants in the Amboseli National Park, Kenya. The park is regarded as the best place in the world to see African elephants. [Chen Liang/China Daily] |
If no one buys ivory, no one will kill elephants for their ivory.
That explains why China introduced a one-year ban on imports on ivory and ivory products in 2015, and why it has now extended that ban until the end of 2019.
It also explains why China has intensified its efforts to extend its ban on imports of ivory and ivory products obtained after 1975 (when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna took effect) to all ivory and ivory products before the convention. The decision was announced by State Forestry Administration on Sunday.
This is meant to drive home the awareness among Chinese people that even ivory and ivory articles obtained or made before the international convention on the protection of endangered wild animal and plants took effect should not be considered eligible for use as decorative articles.
And it means that ivory and ivory products obtained by Westerners during their colonial period cannot be imported into China.
It is unethical for some Western people not to have a guilty conscience about seeking to profit from their forefathers' killing of a large number of elephants in Africa during the colonial times. It is an act of justice for China to stop them selling such ivory and ivory articles to Chinese.
It will take time for people worldwide to develop the awareness about not selling or purchasing ivory or ivory products in order to protect the wild elephants in Africa.
Statistics show that the number of elephants in Africa in 1900 was 10 million but it dropped to 1.2 million by 1980 because of the demand for ivory. The number now stands at 500,000.
Strictly banning the trade of ivory and ivory articles worldwide is an effective way to reduce the killing of African elephants for commercial purposes before the whole world knows that it is a crime to kill elephants and it is unethical to buy or sell ivory articles.
By extending its ban to the import of all ivory and ivory articles and extending its one-year ban to four years, China is contributing to the protection of wild elephants in Africa.
- Import ban on ivory expanded
- Campaign set to fight ivory trade
- Country's biggest illegal ivory haul destroyed
- Govt's decision to outlaw local ivory trade applauded
- Chinese 'ambassadors' shine spotlight on bloody ivory trade
- 600kg of illegal ivory busted in East China
- Prince William takes to CCTV to call for ban on ivory trade
- Import ban targets legal ivory trade
- NASA's Kepler sees first 'shock breakout' in exploding star
- First case of Zika virus detected in S.Korea
- Syrian mothers: Survival and loss
- Gender barrier falls as Air Force general makes history
- Russia retrieves data from recorder of crashed plane
- Obama arrives in Cuba to begin visit in thawing of ties
- In photos: Brussels rocked by multiple explosions
- Raul Castro and Obama hold talks in Havana
- Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg visits China's Great Wall
- Apple releases smaller iPhones for new consumers
- China's 'sleep testers' search hotels for a good night's rest
- Practice makes perfect: Preparing for Boao forum
- A look of Boao Forum for Asia International Conference Center
- Culture Insider: 5 things you may not know about the Spring Equinox
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Anti-graft campaign targets poverty relief |
Cherry blossom signal arrival of spring |
In pictures: Destroying fake and shoddy products |
China's southernmost city to plant 500,000 trees |
Cavers make rare finds in Guangxi expedition |
Cutting hair for Longtaitou Festival |
Today's Top News
Marriott unlikely to top Anbang offer for Starwood: Observers
Chinese biopharma debuts on Nasdaq
What ends Jeb Bush's White House hopes
Investigation for Nicolas's campaign
Will US-ASEAN meeting be good for region?
Accentuate the positive in Sino-US relations
Dangerous games on peninsula will have no winner
National Art Museum showing 400 puppets in new exhibition
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |