6 Tons of Elephant Ivory to be Crushed

In my opinion, releasing the 6 tonnes of ivory in the market might not be a good decision.

With the collectors spending big money for it, it would only encourage poachers to get more ivory to feed the market for the lucrative return when they see the mad prices that collectors would pay.
 
I wonder if it would cause a price drop? I'm not too saavy on my economics theory, but excess supply would push the demand curve down if i remember correctly.

It seems like awaste though, but the effects of releasing it on the market could only fuel the demand...

I've always liked the idea of alternatives to ivory such as cue ball material and elk/stag/etc for use in cues. from what i've read, deer apparently shed their antlers!
 
I cannot say for sure, but I would guess that it would not affect the worldwide price of ivory one bit. I remember reading an article in USA today a few years back about Zimbabwe or Zambia or one of those other African countries that has been stockpiling poached ivory for years, they had a HUGE warehouse full of it, and the government of that country decided it was time to dispose of it, so they, as a government, sold the entire warehouse to the government of Japan, so the Japanese government could "distribute" it to craftsmen for making Netsuke, or carved ivory stamps. I cannot recall the exact amount of ivory in tusk form that they had in the warehouse, but I believe it was in the neighborhood of 50,000 - 100,000 tusks. I doubt that the release of this ivory would make a dent, but I doubt that the governments crushing of it will make one whit's difference either. I think it is a publicity stunt, and nothing more.

Jim Notestine
 
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