It's been over a year since the Obama Administration promised to put in place regulations that - if implemented as proposed - would amount to a near-total ban on domestic ivory sales, imports, and exports of African elephant ivory.
And while they've followed through on a great deal of their commitment, including banning all commercial imports of African elephant ivory, important actions remain unfinished. In particular, the Administration's regulations to prohibit the vast majority of interstate sales of African elephant ivory and limit the number of sport-hunted African elephant trophies a person can import annually remain to be seen. Instead, they languish in the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs ("OIRA"), which has been assessing the proposals' potential impacts.
With tens of thousands of elephants being killed every year for their ivory tusks, the White House needs to pick up the pace. That's why NRDC placed the below ad in this Monday's edition of Politico.
The White House must expedite its review of these proposals and finish the job soon--before it's too late.
