Illegal Elephant Tusk Vendor Convicted with Help of Radiocarbon Dating

in Animal News

There’s bad news for Canadians selling elephant tusks illegally… Thanks to science, you can no longer pretend ivory is antique and get away with it. Authorities can now use radiocarbon dating to determine exactly what year an elephant was killed, showing whether the tusks were legally obtained or not. Under international regulations, tusks can only be legally sold if: 1) the elephant they belonged to was taken from the wild before July 3, 1975 or 2) the seller can prove they were legally imported into Canada. Environment Canada used the new technique for the first time to convict Toronto-based Five Star Auctions and Appraisals and its company director.

Link: CBC News

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