Delighted longstanding anti-ivory campaigner @DavidCrausby MP has signed Early Day Motion 11 to #StopTheIvoryTrade – https://t.co/jJaafXeNfi pic.twitter.com/H4Y7pRPwyl

– IFAW UK Political (@IFAWWestminster) July 25, 2017

I have long supported a ban on the sale of ivory in order to protect elephants.

Since 2006 the total number of elephants in Africa has decreased by approximately 21%, with numbers of savanna elephants alone declining by 30% (equal to 144,000 elephants) between 2007 and 2014, primarily due to poaching.

One of the ways to stop poaching is to end the demand for ivory, and that means stopping sales outright.

At the last election the Conservatives quietly dropped plans for an outright ban from their manifesto. I recently signed an open letter to the Prime Minister organised by Action For Elephants calling on the Government to introduce the ban.

I’m proud to say that following this the Government have begun a consultation and draft legislation is expected in the New Year.

Full details of the consultation and how to respond can be found here. The deadline for submissions is 29th December.

The EU are also holding a consultation on their approach to the ivory trade. You can find details here. The deadline to fill out this questionnaire is Friday 8th December.