Decline in the legal ivory trade in China in anticipation of a ban

Despite increased awareness, China continues to be the world’s major concern in the consumption of illegal ivory. Media attention and support from international NGOs have drawn attention to the poaching crisis currently facing elephants in Africa; there has been growing involvement and dialogue with China from Western leaders and other prominent gures about this. President Obama of the US and Prince William of the UK both spoke in 2015 on Chinese television addressing fears of the ongoing elephant poaching to meet demand for ivory in China. Within China certain celebrities have been involved in campaigns with NGOs, drawing further attention to the elephant-poaching crisis. There has been less awareness about ivory from the woolly mammoth as its tusks are legal, being from an extinct species; many people in China and around the world remain ignorant about the extent of the use of mammoth ivory in China.