Hong Kong follows China, bans ivory trade

Hong Kong politicians have voted to ban the ivory trade from 2021, the South China Morning Post reported.

The decision on Wednesday follows a similar ban in mainland China, which came into force at the end of last year.

Conservation organisation WWF said the decision was a "significant step".

The market for ivory in Hong Kong is one of the biggest in the world, with direct links to large-scale elephant poaching in Africa.

WWF said high demand for ivory in the special administrative region has led to a poaching crisis in Africa.

Around 20,000 elephants are killed illegally every year.