The ivory trade is the buying and selling, which is sometimes illegal, of ivory tusks from animals such as hippos, walruses, narwhals, black and white rhinos, mammoths, and most often, African and Asian elephants.

People in Africa and Asia have traded ivory for hundreds of years, which led to rules and bans being created. In the past, ivory was used to make piano keys and other decorative items because it turns white when processed. However, the piano industry stopped using ivory in the 1980s and began using other materials like plastic instead. Man-made ivory has also been created as a substitute for natural ivory in making piano keys.

Elephant ivory

Elephant ivory has been sent from Africa and Asia for thousands of years, with records dating back to the 14th century BCE. Moving the heavy ivory was very hard, and during the early-modern slave trades from East and West Africa, newly captured slaves were used to carry the ivory to ports where both the ivory and the slaves were sold. The ivory was used to make piano keys, billiard balls, and other luxury items. Before the 20th century, during the colonization of Africa, about 800 to 1,000 tons of ivory were sent to Europe each year.

World wars and economic problems later slowed the trade, but rising wealth in the 1960s and 1970s caused it to grow again. Japan, which had restrictions on trade after World War II, began buying large amounts of raw ivory. This increased pressure on African and Asian forest elephants, which were used to supply the hard ivory preferred by Japanese for making hanko, name seal stamps used like signatures. Before this time, most name seals were made from wood with an ivory tip, but wealthier times led to the mass production of solid ivory hanko. Softer ivory from East and southern Africa was sold for souvenirs, jewelry, and trinkets.

Japan’s high demand for hanko was the main reason for its ivory use, but ivory has also been used to make high-status cultural items, such as parts of the Japanese tea ceremony (Chanoyu). This includes custom-made lids for certain ceramic tea caddies, which are still valued today. The continued use of ivory in these practices keeps the issue connected to modern conservation efforts.

By the 1970s, Japan used about 40% of the world’s ivory trade. Another 40% was used by Europe and North America, often processed in Hong Kong, the largest trade hub. Most of the rest stayed in Africa. China, which was not yet a major economic power, used small amounts of ivory to support skilled carvers.

In 1979, the African elephant population was estimated at about 1.3 million across 37 countries. By 1989, this number had dropped to 600,000. Although traders claimed habitat loss was the main problem, it became clear that the international ivory trade was the main threat. Each year, about 75,000 African elephants were killed for ivory, worth about $1 billion. Around 80% of this ivory came from elephants killed illegally.

International discussions about protecting elephants often ignored the human cost in Africa, including corruption, the use of ivory to buy weapons, and the breakdown of law and order in areas where illegal ivory trade thrived. These debates focused mainly on elephant numbers, poaching estimates, and official trade data. Activists, like Jim Nyamu, have described the high prices of poached ivory and the dangers faced by those who oppose poaching.

Solutions to the problem of poaching and illegal trade focused on controlling ivory movement through CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

Although poaching remains a problem in Africa, it is not the only threat to elephants. Fences around farmland are becoming more common, disrupting migration patterns and separating elephant herds.

Some CITES members, led by Zimbabwe, argued that wildlife must have economic value to survive and that local communities should be involved. Ivory was accepted as a way to use wildlife without killing it, but debates continued about killing, as in the ivory trade. Most encounters between CITES officials and poachers ended in violence, killing people on both sides. It was recognized that the idea of "sustainable lethal use of wildlife" was at risk if the ivory trade could not be controlled. In 1986, CITES introduced a new system involving paper permits, registration of ivory stockpiles, and monitoring legal ivory movements. These controls were supported by most CITES members, the ivory trade, and conservation groups like WWF, Traffic, and IUCN.

In 1986 and 1987, CITES registered 89.5 and 297 tons of ivory in Burundi and Singapore, respectively. Burundi had one known wild elephant, and Singapore had none. These stockpiles were mostly from illegally killed elephants. The CITES Secretariat was later criticized by the U.S. delegate for redefining "registration" as "amnesty." This led to investigations by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), which found that large parts of the stockpiles belonged to international criminals involved in poaching and illegal trade. Hong Kong-based traders like Wang and Poon benefited from the amnesty, and elephant expert Iain Douglas-Hamilton said the Burundi amnesty made "at least two millionaires." EIA confirmed that these groups had created enormous wealth and used CITES permits to smuggle ivory, which they could produce if customs stopped them. CITES’ system increased ivory’s value, rewarded smugglers, and allowed them to control the trade.

Further failures of this system were uncovered by EIA, which gained access to ivory carving factories in the United Arab Emirates run by Hong Kong traders, including Poon. They also collected trade statistics, airway bills, and evidence in the UAE, Singapore, and Hong Kong. UAE records showed the country had imported over 200 tons of raw ivory in 1987/88, with nearly half coming from Tanzania, which had a complete ivory ban. This showed that traders rewarded by CITES were outsmarting the system.

Despite these findings and media reports, including ITV’s The Cook Report, and appeals from African countries and global organizations, WWF only supported a ban in mid-1989. This highlighted WWF’s focus on the "lethal use" principle of wildlife. Even then, WWF tried to weaken decisions at the October 1989 CITES meeting.

Tanzania, trying to stop ivory syndicates corrupting its society, proposed listing the African Elephant under CITES Appendix One (effectively banning international trade). Some southern African countries, like South Africa and Zimbabwe, strongly opposed this, claiming their elephant populations were well-managed and that ivory sales could fund conservation. Although both countries were linked to illegal ivory trade, WWF, which had close ties to them, faced a difficult position. Publicly, WWF opposed the trade but privately tried to calm these countries. However, the so-called Somalia-Proposal, presented…

Walrus ivory

For many years, people in the northern hemisphere have traded walrus ivory. This trade involved groups such as the Norse, Russians, other Europeans, the Inuit, and the people of Greenland.

According to the United States government, Alaska’s Native people, including the Inuit, Aleuts, and First Nations, are allowed to hunt walrus for basic needs as long as they do not waste too much of the animal. These people can sell the ivory from hunted walrus to non-Natives if they report the sale to a United States Fish and Wildlife Service representative, tag the ivory, and shape it into a craft. They may also sell ivory found within 0.25 miles (0.40 km) of the ocean—called beach ivory—to non-Natives if the ivory is tagged and shaped in some way. Fossilized ivory is not controlled by laws and can be sold without being tagged, shaped, or registered.

In Greenland, before 1897, walrus ivory was only sold within Greenland by the Royal Greenland Trade Department. After that year, walrus ivory was exported to other countries.

During the Middle Ages, walrus ivory was used to make art pieces and especially chess pieces. Narwhal horns, mostly from Greenland, were sold in Europe as unicorn horns.

In the 1800s, Inuit people near the Bering Strait traded walrus ivory with the Chinese in exchange for glass beads and metal items. Before this time, the Inuit used ivory for practical purposes such as harpoon tips and tools. Walrus ivory was rarely used for other reasons, except to make games for celebrations and children’s toys.

Moscow is an important center for trading walrus ivory, supplying the material to many countries outside of Russia.

Narwhal ivory

The people of Greenland probably traded narwhal ivory among themselves before Europeans arrived. For many years, narwhal tusks were sent from Greenland to markets around the world.

In the 1600s, the Dutch traded with the Inuit, exchanging metal items for narwhal tusks, seal skins, and other goods.

Today, Greenland continues to trade with other countries, and Denmark is the main buyer of these goods.

The Canadian government has set an international export ban on narwhal tusks from 17 communities in Nunavut. Inuit traders in this region are asking the Federal Court to review the ban. The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans limits the export of narwhal tusks and related products from these communities, including Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut.

Well-preserved tusks can be worth up to $450 per metre. The ban applies to both carved tusks and raw tusks.

The Canadian government has said that if it does not stop the export of narwhal tusks, other countries might ban exports through CITES, an international agreement.

Narwhal tusks can still be traded within Canada.

Mammoth ivory

In 1611, the first known piece of mammoth ivory arrived in western Europe. This piece was bought from the Samoyeds, a group of people living in Siberia, and sent to London.

After 1582, when Russia took control of Siberia, mammoth ivory became more commonly available. The industry for mammoth ivory in Siberia grew significantly starting in the mid-1700s. In one example, in 1821, a collector transported 8,165 kg (18,001 lb) of ivory from about 50 mammoths found on the New Siberian Islands.

It is estimated that 46,750 mammoths were uncovered during the first 250 years after Siberia became part of Russia.

In the early 1800s, mammoth ivory was used to make items like piano keys, billiard balls, and decorative boxes.

In 1998, over 300 mammoth tusks were found in an underground ice cave on the Taimyr Peninsula in northern Siberia. These fossils and tusks were studied until 2003, when 24 of them were stolen and taken to Russia. The person responsible was later caught and arrested, but the damage made it difficult to continue studying the tusks.