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Elephant ivory products for sale in Tha Phrachan market, Thailand © WWF / James Morgan

Thailand's ivory markets surveyed

Elephant ivory products for sale in Tha Phrachan market, Thailand © WWF / James Morgan

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Published 3 July 2014

  English 

Market surveys find disturbing increase in Thai ivory market

Bangkok, Thailand, 3rd July 2014—Monthly monitoring of Bangkok’s domestic ivory market by TRAFFIC reveals a near trebling of the number of ivory items for sale in the past 18 months and a steep rise in the number of outlets selling ivory in Thailand's capital city.

Polishing off the ivory trade: Surveys of Thailand's ivory market

Report author(s):
N. Doak

Publication date:
July 2014


Notes:

1. CITES recognizes two species of elephants, the Asian Elephant Elephas maximus and the African Elephant Loxodonta africana, and prohibits all international commercial trade in wild individuals or their parts and derivatives such as ivory, except under exceptional and very limited circumstances.

2. Thailand has wild populations of Asian Elephants estimated to number between 2,500 – 3,200 individuals.  Thailand’s captive population of Asian Elephants is far greater and numbered 4,169 animals in 2012, according to government data


About TRAFFIC

TRAFFIC is a leading non-governmental organisation working to ensure that trade in wild species is legal and sustainable, for the benefit of the planet and people.