Ivory trade

AFP

Singapore says it will ban the domestic sale of elephant ivory from September 2021.

The announcement by the country's National Parks Board was made to coincide with World Elephant Day.

"The ban will mean that the sale of elephant ivory and ivory products, and public display of elephant ivory and ivory products for the purpose of sale will be prohibited," the Reuters news agency quotes the statement as saying.

Those who violate the new law could be jailed for up to a year and also be fined, the AFP news agency says.

There is a big demand for elephant ivory in Asia, where it is used to make ornaments and in traditional medicine.

Singapore is already a signatory of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), which bans the international trade in ivory.

It has been legal to sell ivory locally if traders prove it was imported before 1990, but environmentalists say poached ivory can be easily disguised as legitimate, Reuters reports.

Last month, Singapore seized 8.8 tonnes (8,800kg) of elephant ivory valued at $12.9m (£10.4m). It is estimated to have come from nearly 300 elephants from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to Reuters, environmentalists say about 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers.