Singapore - The government of Singapore said on Monday it would ban local ivory trade from September 2021 to close the door to an important market for illegally hunted elephant tusks.
Demand for ivory from Asian countries such as China and Vietnam, where ivory is turning into jewelery and accessories, has spawned illegal fishing in Africa.
The international ivory trade has been banned since 1990 under the treaty banning international trade in animals and plants at risk of extinction, which most countries have signed.
'Singapore today announced a ban on domestic trade in elephant ivory,' the National Park Council, a government agency, said in a statement coinciding with World Elephant Day.
'The ban would mean that the sale of elephant ivory and ivory products would be banned and that elephant ivory and ivory products would be publicly offered for sale,' he said.
An estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers to obtain ivory and meat. Environmental experts say only 400,000 are left.