CultureWhere did the ivory trade go after China banned elephant tusks? North, into Russia’s permafrost

After China prohibited elephant-tusk imports in 2017, mammoth tusks became known as “ethical ivory” and filled part of the market once supplied by slaughtered elephants. China and Hong Kong host the world’s most developed tusk-carving industry, where an individual piece can command billions of rubles. Yakutia’s tusk hunters now meet that demand by excavating frozen ivory from the permafrost. The Siberian independent outlet People of Baikal examines the punishing trade and the possible costs it imposes on science and the hunters themselves.

mammoth ivoryYakutiapermafrostivory trade

MMeduza★★☆☆☆2026-08-10 23:49Original