A Court in Guangzhou handed long prison terms to 17 people - including life imprisonment for the two ringleaders - for running China’s biggest ivory smuggling ring, involving over 20 tonnes of ivory worth more than 1 billion yuan (HK$1.19 billion) from West Africa into Mainland China.
Despite Hong Kong’s legislation and regulation of the illegal ivory trade, enforcement and relevant sentencing tariffs for the illegal sale of protected wildlife products remain lenient. As long as ivory is perceived to be a symbol to convey wealth and status, demand will continue and criminals will eventually outsmart preventative strategies. It is therefore important that preventative strategies work in parallel with educational campaigns to convey the message the ivory should not be perceived as a status symbol.
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