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Ivory trade

 The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the

hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth,] and most commonly, African 

and Asian elephants.

Ivory has been traded for hundreds of years by people in such regions as

Greenland, Alaska, and Siberia. The trade, in more recent times, has led to

endangerment of species, resulting in restrictions and bans. Ivory was formerly

used to make piano keys and other decorative items because of the white color it

presents when processed but the piano industry abandoned ivory as a key

covering material in the !"#s.

Elephant ivory 

Ivory trade in Ghana, $!#

%lephant ivory has been e&ported from Africa and Asia for centuries with records

going back to the 'th century ()%. Throughout the colonisation of Africa ivory

was removed, often using slaves to carry the tusks, to be used for piano keys,

billiard balls and other e&pressions of e&otic wealth.

Ivory hunters were responsible for wiping out elephants in *orth Africa perhaps

about ,### years ago, in much of South Africa in the !th century and most of

+est Africa by the end of the #th century. At the peak of the ivory trade, pre-

#th century, during the colonisation of Africa, around ## to ,### tonnes of

ivory was sent to %urope alone.

+orld wars and the subse/uent economic depressions caused a lull in this lu&ury

commodity, but increased prosperity in the early !"#s saw a resurgence. 0apan,

relieved from its e&change restrictions imposed after +orld +ar II, started to buy

up raw 1unworked2 ivory. This started to put pressure on the forest elephants of

Africa and Asia, both of which were used to supply the hard ivory preferred by

the 0apanese for the production of hankos, or name seals. 3rior to this period,

most name seals had been made from wood with an ivory tip, carved with the

signature, but increased prosperity saw the formerly unseen solid ivory hankosin

mass production. Softer ivory from %ast Africa and southern Africa was traded forsouvenirs, 4ewelry and trinkets.

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(y the !"#s, 0apan consumed about '#5 of the global trade6 another '#5 was

consumed by %urope and *orth America, often worked in 7ong 8ong, which was

the largest trade hub, with most of the rest remaining in Africa. )hina, yet to

become the economic force of today, consumed small amounts of ivory to keep

its skilled carvers in business.