Owners and traders of ivory tusks and product have been warned by that today is the last day to legally register.
Failure to submit registration will result in either imprisonment or a fine under the Ivory Tusks Act, which gave owners 90 days to register beginning Jan. 22 through today.
Part of Thailand’s bid to rehabilitate its reputation as a trafficking hub – and stave off costly sanctions – the registration deadline comes nearly a year after damning reports directly linked the Thai marketplace to rapidly vanishing herds of African elephants.
Resisting calls to ban outright the trade of ivory, authorities have instead tried to clean up and regulate the legal trade of certain ivory sourced from domestic elephants.
Officials said upward of 22,000 ivory tusks and products have been registered but said few temples have submitted their registration, according to state media. Many of the registrations were made from Surin, Uthai Thani, Nakhon Sawan, and Kamphaeng Phet provinces.
The department is now offering last-minute registration services for those yet to report their ivory goods.
Photo: WWF
Related:
Slaughterhouse: Thailand’s Ivory trade triples as elephants slide into extinction
