Ahead of Earth Day, the San Francisco Zoo is trying to stop the illegal trade of animal parts.
Ivory made from elephant tusks are still a hot commodity, and biologists are trying to show people just how damaging the ivory trade is.
The Earth Day celebration at the San Francisco Zoo including a very serious lesson in conservation and is trying to protect elephants, rhinos, and other animals in the wild.
For their tusks or horns, as is the case with rhinos, they are re talking up AB 96. But the ivory trade continues to thrive, despite laws against the sale, but according to the director of conservation, there is a big loophole in California Law. And San Francisco is high on the list for ivory imports.
The zoo is trying to educate consumers on what's at stake and what AB 96 could do.
"Ivory is illegal technically in the United States," San Francisco Zoo Director of Conservation Jessie Bushell said. "State by state, there are different regulations. State of California has a loophole in the law that allows the sale of antique ivory. The problem is how do you show that it's antique? It's very, very difficult. You have to take the word of the salesperson, and to be honest, that’s just not good enough anymore. There is just too much of a demand for ivory."
She said it would tighten that loophole, but also benefit hippos and whales, whose products are sold as ivory. It would eliminate a decades-old exemption and establish state enforcement.
