IVORY

​Was it always illegal? 

 

The possession and hunting for ivory wasn’t always illegal. It has historically been a resource that was widely used and traded amongst the countries. According to Ashlee Blewett, “European empires set up special colonies in Africa to harvest elephant ivory and then used the money they earned to finance explorations across the globe”(Blewett 37). It was a lucrative business. With the demand increasing over a short period of time, ivory needed to be captured. Therefore large multitudes of elephants were put on the chopping block. As elephants were placed on the endangered species list, restrictions and bans were brought forth to address this evolving tragedy.
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