President Obama has announced restrictions on the sale and trade of ivory, speaking from Kenya during the weekend.The new rules are aimed at helping to stop the killing of African elephants by poachers.
The ban would effectively prohibit all interstate sales of ivory, as reported by Discovery. The only exceptions would be for "pre-existing manufactured items," such as pieces of furniture or musical instruments containing small amounts of ivory.
It is estimated that over 100,000 elephants were killed for ivory between 2010 and 2012, according to a study published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" as reported by Think Progress.
There will be a 60-day period for the public to comment on the issue, before the new rule is brought into law.
The U.S. is the second largest market for ivory and animal products, behind Asia, according to The NY Times. Daniel Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said: "By tightening domestic controls on trade in elephant ivory, and allowing only very narrow exceptions, we will close existing avenues that are exploited by traffickers and address ivory trade that poses a threat to elephants in the wild."
