California Passes AB96, Goes Ivory Free

African Wildlife Foundation Board Chair David Thomson released the following statement on California Governor Jerry Brown's signing of Assembly Bill 96 into law, effectively banning all intrastate trade of elephant ivory and rhino horn in the state: 

“Californians have fired a warning shot across the bow of all those who knowingly sell, buy or traffic in illicit ivory and rhino horn in this state. With the passage of AB96, Governor Brown, Assembly Speaker Atkins and other California lawmakers sent a crystal clear message that California will no longer be the lackey of the illegal ivory trade; its laws will no longer be exploited by ivory traffickers; and buyers and sellers of illegal ivory will no longer find safe haven within its borders.

“California lawmakers, NGOs and citizens have campaigned tirelessly over the last year to arrive at this day, and with the passage of AB96, we have chosen living elephants and rhinos over their lifeless derivatives, and action over inaction.

“In this day and age, with the increasingly global and organized nature of wildlife crime, the protection of elephants, rhinos and other wildlife cannot and should not be the sole domain of field-based conservationists and rangers. While we need our brave rangers on the ground to combat this crisis, we also need our courageous leaders and lawmakers in Washington, in Beijing, in Dar es Salaam, as well as in Sacramento, to take ownership of this issue and give rangers and conservationists much needed support.

“California now joins New York and New Jersey in passing a law that effectively bans intrastate trade in ivory and rhino horn. That means that the states with the largest and second largest ivory markets—New York and California respectively—and New Jersey, with its large port, are helping bring an end to an era in which the U.S. response to the illegal wildlife trade was tepid and insufficient. And where these three states lead, others will surely follow.” 

As many as 35,000 African elephants are illegally killed every year for their ivory tusks due to a growing demand in China, Thailand, the United States and other countries for statues, art and jewelry made from ivory. And last year, 1,215 rhinos were killed by poachers in South Africa. While international trade in ivory and rhino horn are banned, legal domestic trade continues in many countries, including the United States, and California is home to the second largest ivory market in the country. The state's move to ban intrastate trade in ivory and rhino horn complements the federal government's efforts to ban interstate trade, putting the U.S. on a course to be ivory and rhino horn free.