Share

UK to ban hippo ivory

The UK will ban hippo ivory as the government plans to close a loophole in poaching laws, the Sunday Telegraph reported, citing people it didn’t identify.

The Ivory Act outlaws the sale of elephant ivory but allows hunters to trade hippo tusks and skulls. Yet hippos are more endangered than elephants, with 400,000 elephants in the wild and only an estimated 130,000 hippos, the newspaper said.

Senior officials at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs told the Telegraph there will be a consultation at the end of October to modify the law to include all ivory-bearing animals, including hippos, walruses, narwhals and warthogs. There’s an ongoing call for evidence, which is expected to justify such a change, the newspaper said.

Hippo ivory is considered easier to carve and cheaper to obtain than elephant ivory. Campaigners have warned that it’s almost impossible to tell whether a tusk is from a hippo that was killed recently or many years ago, and whether it was poached or legally killed, according to the Telegraph.

Banning hippo ivory was raised at the Conservative Party conference earlier this month, and Defra ministers met with campaigners from the International Fund for Animal Welfare to discuss the Ivory Act. The Born Free Foundation, which has been campaigning for the protection of hippos, welcomed the proposed law change, the Telegraph said.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.96
-0.1%
Rand - Pound
23.92
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.35
-0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.1%
Platinum
908.05
+1.2%
Palladium
1,014.94
+1.3%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders