Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has pledged to end ivory trade in Thailand, after the call of nearly 1.5million WWF and Avaaz supporters.

Thailand is currently the world’s largest unregulated ivory market and  second only to China as the largest illegal ivory market, and so it is hoped that Shinawatra’s government’s planned steps  will go a long way in curbing a global poaching crisis that is leading to the slaughter of tens of thousands of elephants each year and fuelling a global criminal trade in animal parts.

“We’re thrilled to hear that Prime Minister Shinawatra took this opportunity to seize the global spotlight and pledge to end ivory trade in her country. But the fight to stop wildlife crime and shut down Thailand’s ivory markets is not over. Prime Minister Shinawatra now needs to provide a timeline for this ban and ensure that it takes place as a matter of urgency, because the slaughter of elephants continues,” said Carlos Drews head of WWF’s delegation to CITES.