Somewhat in line with my concerns about proposed careful regulation of the taking of hunting trophies to fund conservation, is a finding by the Avaaz organisation that ivory purchased in 10 European countries included high percentages of illegal items (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/10/illegal-ivory-found-on-sale-in-10-european-countries). More than 100 items were purchased before being subjected to radiocarbon dating. Circa 20% of the artefacts were actually from animals killed after 1990 (the trade was made illegal in 1989). In a massive 75% of tests, the ivory was obtained after 1947, meaning that its sale was supposed to include (but lacked) official documentation. Illegality on this scale does not auger well for effective regulation.
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