Ivory trade in Hong Kong and China

The two sides of Hong Kong's ivory and wildlife trade

Hong Kong is considered the world’s largest ivory market playing a major role in the slaughter of 30,000 African elephants annually, according to WWF. On January 1, 2018, Hong Kong voted to gradually phase out the trade of ivory, stopping completely in 2021. But for those on the ground in Africa, that is a long way away.


Daniel Ole Sambu, a Maasai tribesman from Kenya and James Mwenda of Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy, visited Hong Kong’s Hollywood Road, where antique shops sell ivory goods.

November 19, 2018