The move by Hong Kong’s lawmakers is hailed by campaigners as «a lifeline for elephants».
Hong Kong’s lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly to ban the trade in ivory, in a move campaigners termed «a lifeline for elephants».
A similar ban was brought in across mainland China earlier this year .
Ivory sales will be phased out gradually in Hong Kong, stopping completely in 2021.
Prior to the vote, demonstrators gathered outside Hong Kong’s legislature with signs reading: Do you really need ivory chopsticks?
«Shutting down this massive ivory market has thrown a lifeline to elephants,» said Bert Wander of the global advocacy group Avaaz.
Ivory from animal tusks — mostly those of elephants — has been traded in Hong Kong for more than 150 years.
More than 90% of those buying ivory in the territory are from the Chinese mainland, which had hitherto been the world’s largest importer of elephant tusks.
