Ivory carvers worry skills may be lost

Ban on commercial processing pushes artisans to other materials

Ivory carvers in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, one of the major production and sales centers of ivory products in China, said they have turned to work on substitute materials and that the ban on the commercial processing and sales of ivory has had a limited effect on them so far.

The State Forestry Administration announced that China had ended the commercial processing and sales of ivory at the end of 2017 as planned, calling it China's "New Year's gift to the elephant". While it is good news for the African wild elephant population, which is declining due to poaching, it means that it will be difficult to pass on ivory carving skills.