By Hannah Osborne
Governments across the world have been urged to take tougher action to stop the illegal trade of ivory before it is too late.
Campaigners with WWF and Traffic have asked 177 governments gathering in Bangkok for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to stop the trade in up to 30,000 slaughtered African elephants every year.
The charities want governments to implement strict trade regulations against countries where the illegal ivory trade is most prominent.
Nigeria, Thailand and the Democratic Republic of Congo have done little to address the trade of illegal ivory, despite it being rife in all three countries.
Thailand, where the convention is being held, has one of the world's largest unregulated ivory markets.
Traders there are able to take advantage of Thai laws, which allow the sale of domestic elephants, meaning they can launder huge quantities of illegal African ivory through Thai shops.
Demand for ivory has increased in China and east Asia with elephant tusks and rhino horns being used in traditional medicines as cancer treatments, aphrodisiacs and hangover cures. Last year, a record 668 rhinos were killed for their horns.
Carlos Drews, director of the global species programme at WWF, said: "Thailand can easily fix this situation by banning all ivory sales in the country and in doing so would eliminate the need for trade sanctions.
"WWF is petitioning the Thai prime minister for an immediate ban on the ivory trade. Nearly 400,000 people from Thailand and across the world who want a future for wild elephants have joined this call.
Widespread poaching crisis
"Elephants are disappearing from more and more places in Africa because the ivory trade has exploded out of control. More....