The United States government is trying to help stop the poaching. In 1989, the U.S. imposed a law making it illegal to trade new African elephant ivory. But it is hard to distinguish antique ivory from new ivory taken from recently killed elephants. Despite the 1989 law, poachers continued to kill elephants, secretly selling new ivory artworks as antiques on the black market.
In an effort to stop black-market poaching, the U.S. government recently revised the 1989 law to include a ban on the sale of antique ivory as well as new ivory. Unless collectors can prove that their ivory artwork was made before 1914 or that they acquired it before 1974, they no longer have the legal right to sell it. With this ban in place, the government hopes to discourage poachers by making most ivory objects, both new and old, worthless.