Asian elephants are being put at risk by some of the highest ivory prices in the world, according to the WWF group.

A survey by the WWF and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature found reports of raw ivory tusks selling for up to $1,500 per kg in Vietnam, with tusk tips going for up to $1,863 per kg. Traders in Vietnam are allowed to sell ivory provided it was in stock at the time of a ban on the trade in 1992.

“Although fewer ivory items were seen in 2008 than in 2001, worked ivory is increasingly being sold directly to buyers through middlemen or on the Internet, bypassing retail outlets. Continued demand for illegal ivory is driving the prices so high,” says Azrina Abdullah, director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, a wildlife trade monitoring group run by WWF and the IUCN (press release).

Most of the raw ivory on sale came from the Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic, according to the survey. The WWF says no more that 1,000 elephants live in Lao.

“This is a worrying trend that indicates even more pressure is being put on already fragile Asian Elephant populations,” says Abdullah.

Coverage

Ivory trade hits Asia’s elephants – BBC

Rising ivory demand threatens Asia elephants –study – Reuters