Myanmar is the new illegal ivory market for African elephants, says report

Elephant ivory [Courtesy]

Myanmar, a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups, bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand is now the new growing market for ivory trade.

This is according to a new report by ivory trade specialists Lucy Vigne and the late Esmond Martin, which shows that one town in particular in Myanmar, Mong La - a frontier town in the notorious Golden Triangle on the border of China - has experienced a ‘prolific growth’ in ivory trading.