an auction house in Australia is upending the ivory trade

We’re working with the private sector and Parliament to stop the trade of ivory and rhino horns in Australia.

Problem

We knew some elephant ivory and rhino horns were being sold at auction houses. But we didn’t know how many. In 2015, IFAW launched an investigation.

We uncovered 2,772 ivory items for sale at 175 auctions in 21 auction houses in Australia and New Zealand, and we found that the ivory and rhino trade in these auction houses was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Solution

We issued a report titled “Under the Hammer.” But we didn’t stop there. We knew completely ending the domestic ivory trade demanded a national change in policy.

We briefed every member of Parliament—all 226 of them—on data regarding the severity of the global poaching crisis, Australia’s domestic ivory market, and information about how the Australian government could stop it.

Then, we gained the support of the Deputy Chair of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Law Enforcement to launch an inquiry. Now, the Committee is recommending a domestic ban on the ivory trade.