Experts have questioned the wisdom of Prince William’s call for a complete ban on ivory trading.
The 34-year-old royal recently spoke out on the issue of ivory trading and while he has received support from some quarters, the British Museum and historian David Starkey have opposed Prince William’s plea.
Starkey told the Antiques Trade Gazette: "By trying to preserve one wondrous, rare and elegant thing, the elephant, we are in danger of threatening other wondrous, rare and elegant objects.
"If these objects cease to be tradable they lose their value and will end up being destroyed. This is one of the largest threats to the preservation of Western decorative arts. It would be cultural vandalism."
At present, only ivory products made after 1947 are illegal. But under the proposals put forward by the Prince, an outright ban would be imposed, regardless of the age.
Meanwhile, Philip Mould has also joined the increasingly long list of experts opposing Prince William’s plans, warning that his ideas threaten "thousands of years of culture and history".
He said: "As an active conservationist, nothing could be more welcome to me than an initiative to save one of our most charismatic animals from a relentless road to extinction.
"A ban on the heinous trade in poached ivory should not mean that a thousand years of culture and history be outlawed with it.
"The thought that, say, some of our most emotive miniature portraits of Nelson, Byron and the young Queen Victoria become persona non grata – artworks of shame for which there is no market – is up there with book-burning and recent cultural vengeance meted out on the buildings of ancient Syria."
Prince William’s ivory trade plans questioned by experts
