[ad_1]
Born Free, an international wildlife conservation group, has warned that hippopotamus numbers in Africa continue to decline as mandated by law.
Similar to warthog tusks, hippopotamus giant teeth, classified as ivory, are much cheaper and more readily available than elephant ivory. Also, like other ivory, it is increasingly being used for decorative carvings.
In its report, “A tooth for a tooth?” the charity warns that the successful hippopotamus ivory trade is worrying for a species already listed as “endangered”.
This pattern was evident all the way back to 1989, when a global ban on the ivory trade was first agreed, according to the report.
The introduction of the Ivory Act in the UK in June 2022 puts the country at the forefront of elephant conservation efforts and has one of the toughest domestic ivory bans in the world. But crucially, it contained no birch ivory.
The report’s lead author, Frankie Osatch, said: “Within a month of the introduction of a near-total ban on ivory, birch ivory trade in the UK increased.”
The charity tracked websites such as Barnebys, a popular auctioneer and antique dealer search engine. Selling ivory on eBay UK and his specialist online marketplace, Antiques Atlas.
Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe are sources of three-quarters of the estimated 13,900 hippos whose parts and products were traded between 2009 and 2018.
In ten countries in West and Central Africa, poaching and land degradation have led to sharp declines in hippopotamus populations.
[ad_2]
Source link
