Artnet quotes Louise Paterson on the Ivory Act
A years-in-the-making ivory ban came into effect in the UK on the 6 June, making the ownership of items carved from elephant tusks punishable by hefty fines and jail sentences.
Louise Paterson, Associate, provides comment for Artnet on the new ban.
She comments:
“It will likely be some time before the impact of the new ban can be assessed objectively. There is always the risk that the ban will simply relocate the ivory trade to other commercial centres and encourage illegal exports to jurisdictions where the ivory trade is less tightly controlled.”
As for the lack of protection for other animals, Louise suggested that the successful passing and enforcement of the Ivory Act makes the prospect of extending the ban beyond elephants “unlikely to prove very controversial.”
Louise's comments were first published in Artnet.
