Almost a year after China enforced a complete ban on ivory trade, a similar but stricter bill passed by the British parliament became law on Thursday. 

After getting Royal Assent on Thursday, the UK Ivory Act 2018 makes it illegal to buy or sell ivory products in the country. The new rules became law on Friday and will start being implemented in 2019. 

“Following on the heels of China's closure of its own domestic ivory market at the start of the year, this is the best Christmas present the UK could have given the world's threatened elephant populations in Africa and Asia,” Mary Rice, executive director of Environment Investigative Agency (EIA) said. 

China banned ivory trade early this year creating pressure on developed nations to take similar steps. The European Union, Australia, Singapore and other countries have already initiated the process of seeking public opinion on the issue.   

With a large stock of colonial-era ivory, the UK became a prime destination for the trade. More than a million elephants were killed in British ruled countries to feed its domestic demand – ranging from ivory ornaments, piano keys to billiard balls and cutlery, EIA maintained. 

These ivory products remained in the country, opening up prospects for a posh ivory market. The national laws permitted the trade of ivory pieces procured before 1947. But certifying the age of ivory is a time consuming and expensive process and became a significant deterrent in enforcing the rule. 

Traders took advantage of this loophole to sell illegal ivory pieces. Ivory pieces reportedly from poached African elephants further led to a boom in the trade.

Fueled by massive global demand, poaching of elephants in African countries increased manyfold. According to estimates, more than 20,000 elephants are killed in these countries to satiate the demand for ivory. 

The new law ensures a total ban on dealing items containing elephant ivory, regardless of their age, within the UK, as well as export from or import to the UK, a government statement maintained. 

“It is an extraordinary achievement to have passed this Act of Parliament. The Ivory Act is a landmark in our fight to protect wildlife and the environment,” Michael Gove, UK Environment Secretary said. 

“The speed of its passage through Parliament shows the strength of feeling on all sides of the House on this critical issue.”

In October, the UK government formed Ivory Alliance, a coalition of political leaders, conservationists, and celebrities to curb the trade and elephant poaching by one third by 2020. 

Helen Clark, former New Zealand prime minister, said, the UK leadership comes at a crucial time for wildlife conservation. “It will go a long way towards influencing countries, including New Zealand and Australia, on the movement towards their own bans.”