Trading ivory from a hippo, walrus, narwhal, killer whale and sperm whale will quickly be unlawful, the federal government says.

The Ivory Act of 2018 got here into pressure final June to guard elephants and now it is going to be prolonged to cowl these 5 different species.

Naturalist and TV presenter Steve Backshall mentioned: "This is an important moment in the conservation of these iconic species.

"There is widespread public assist for the ivory ban and immediately by extending it additional we're sending a transparent message that there isn't a place within the UK for this vile commerce."

The change will take effect "in the end" relying on the supply of parliamentary time, with punishment for breaching the act being an infinite tremendous or as much as 5 years in jail.

Biodiversity minister Trudy Harrison mentioned: "This is a pivotal moment in delivering one of our key manifesto commitments on international conservation.

"The Ivory Act is among the hardest bans of its variety on this planet and by extending higher authorized protections to 5 extra species, we're sending a transparent message the industrial commerce of ivory is completely unacceptable.

"The UK has long led the way in conservation and our ban shows continued global leadership in doing all we can to protect the world's most endangered species."

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Hippos are essentially the most susceptible to ivory exploitation after elephants, in response to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature's pink record courses hippos as weak, together with the walrus and sperm whale, all of them being threatened by air pollution, transport lanes, local weather change and human battle.

'A very good day for conservation'

Frances Goodrum, head of campaigns and programmes on the International Fund for Animal Welfare, mentioned early indications are that the ban is having "a significant impact" on the commerce in elephant ivory.

"Yet other species are still poached globally to meet an unnecessary demand for luxury ivory products, including the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, sperm whale and killer whale.

"We welcome Defra's determination to increase this highly effective laws, which is able to go a good distance in cracking down on a dangerous commerce.

"Today is a good day for conservation and a step change towards international commitments to safeguard our natural world."