The California Case of an Antique Ivory Collector v. African Elephants
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Until it was amended in 2015, California’s state ivory ban had a loophole that cost many lives. Its primary victims were those same beleaguered African elephants the law was written to protect. The loophole allowed the continued sale of ivory imported into the state before 1977, so it encouraged vendors to disguise new ivory with stains and carvings to make it look old—and further fueled Africa’s poaching crisis.
Story posted July 2017 by Corey Binns / NRDC
