Commenting on the UK Conservative Government’s announcement of a UK ban on ivory sales, Shadow Rural Affairs spokesman, Paul Davies AM, said:

“This is a welcome announcement by the Conservative Government and reaffirms the UK’s global leadership on this critical issue, demonstrating our belief that the abhorrent ivory trade should become a thing of the past.

“The ban will be the toughest in Europe and one of the toughest in the world, which will protect elephants for future generations.

“Ivory should never be seen as a commodity for financial gain or a status symbol and I am delighted to see Michael Gove and the Conservative Government taking such a strong lead on protecting animal rights.

“We now hope to see other counties across the globe following our lead by saying ‘no’ to the ivory trade.”

Notes to editors:

The ban will cover ivory items of all ages – not just those which were produced after a certain date and the maximum available penalty for breaching the ban will be an unlimited fine or up to five years in jail.

There were more than 70,000 responses during the consultation process, with over 88 percent of responses in favour of the ban.

In line with guidance in countries across the world, there will be exemptions for items made before 1947 that are less than 10% ivory and musical instruments with an ivory content of less than 20% made prior to 1975.