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Ivory Act 2018

Contents

Legal background

  1. The ban in the Act covers most of the commercial activities outlined in Article 8(1) of Council Regulation No 338/97 (the "Basic Regulation"). The prohibitions are to:
    • the purchase;
    • the offer to purchase;
    • the use for commercial sale which would mean any form of sale (this includes sale for money and sales in kind such as exchange or bartering) of ivory from African elephants (Loxdonta Africana) and Asian elephants (Elephas Maximus).
    • the offering for sale (which would include advertising, or causing an item to be advertised for sale and invitation to treat), or
    • the keeping for sale and transporting for sale (this includes (i) the selling an ivory item and then transporting it; and (ii) the transporting it with the intention of selling it).
  2. The scope of the ban includes both physical locations and online fora. In terms of geographical scope, the ban covers dealing concerning elephant ivory within the UK, to and from the UK and the EU and to and from the UK to third countries.
  3. The ban in the Act does not affect the right to own ivory items for purely personal use, the right to gift, donate, inherit, or the right to bequeath. The regime in CITES and the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations will continue to apply to these activities.
  4. The prohibition does not apply to ivory from other ivory-bearing species, for instance walrus, hippopotamus or narwhals. Section 37 includes a power to add other ivory-bearing species to the scope of the Act through secondary legislation.

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