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Singapore has announced a ban on selling elephant ivory within the country, effective 2021.
The authorities will penalize violators with fines and a prison sentence of up to one year. Those who already own things made from ivory when the ban takes effect can keep their possessions, provided that those will not be sold. They may also choose to donate their ivory to institutions.
Singapore made the announcement in August, following the seizure of the largest amount of smuggled ivory in July. Officials discovered the ivory in a container passing through Singapore from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Vietnam. The seized ivory cost approximately $12.9 million and weighed almost nine tonnes. This amount of ivory was estimated to be from around 300 African elephants.
People take ivory from elephant tusks because it can be used to make expensive combs, pendants, and jewelry. African elephants were overhunted because of the demand for their ivory, causing their worldwide population to drop drastically. Their numbers decreased from millions in the mid-1900s to around only 600,000 by the end of the 1980s. To protect the elephants, an international ban on ivory trade has been implemented since 1989.
Although Singapore has supported the ban against international trade of elephant ivory since 1990, the country did not have a ban against domestic trade before now. Prior to its decision to implement the ban, the government checked with non-government groups, ivory retailers, and the public for the past two years. This was to gauge public support for the prohibition against domestic trade. Results of the consultation showed that 99% of respondents were in favor of totally banning ivory sales within Singapore.