Call to ban ivory give and take

Ivory products confiscated by police in Yunnan province during a crackdown on the smuggling and trafficking of protected wildlife products in January. Zhai Jian/for China Daily

"Expensive ivory products are always used as bribes," Yao said. "They are an important feature of the extravagance and corruption in China."

Last year, the government banned the serving of shark fin and bird nest soups and other wild animal products at official banquets and, in January, China destroyed 6.1 metric tons of confiscate ivory. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has announced it will incinerate 30 tons of stockpiled illegal ivory in the next two years.

If the proposals by Yuan and Yao are adopted, it would represent a monumental step forward, said Zhang Qi, an officer with the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

"We know that we can shed light on the darkness of ignorance," she said.

Zhang believes that once Chinese consumers understand that 90 percent of elephants are killed for their ivory, they will support a sales ban.

Her organization's campaign "Mom, I have teeth" has lessened demand for the product from the segments of the population most likely to buy it from 54 percent to 26 percent, she said.

President Xi Jinping's government austerity drive has already led to a drop in sales of luxury watches, expensive liquor and other extravagant "gifts" commonly used to court favor in both the business and political arena.

The public looks to its leaders for guidance and role models and the government should consider making any purchase of ivory illegal, according to a recent IFAW-commissioned survey by Rapid Asia, a social development organization.

A WildAid survey echoed the same sentiments, with 94 percent of the Chinese public supporting a total government ban on the ivory trade.

"Ignorance, indifference and greed are three key drivers of demand for parts and products of endangered species" said John Scanlon, secretary-general of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, in February in London, where leaders from 46 countries gathered to pledge their support to fight wildlife poaching, trafficking and demand.