Closing the border on Australia’s domestic elephant ivory trade

Damien Garrett Huffer , Freyja Watters, Thomas Swearingen, Kellie Toole, Phillip Cassey

Australia’s domestic market for elephant (Elephantidae ssp.) ivory remains active online, despite long-standing international controls and pledges to close domestic trade. We conducted snapshot monitoring of surface-web vendors (online auction houses and webstores with ‘buy-it-now’ payment options) and a survey of Facebook Marketplace posts made between January and June 2025, sampled every two weeks. We recorded 1,698 ivory listings from 70 Australia-based surface-web vendors with AUD $653,101 in auction sales, AUD $573,997 in webstore asking prices, and unsold auction lots carrying dealer estimates between AUD $127,400 and $189,765. Indications of compliance with international law were sparse (one stated an ivory policy; four mentioned the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Listing-level transparency was low, <1% listings provided documentation; 26% stated provenance, 9% provenience, and 62% an approximate age. Most listings were auctions (1,303 out of 1,698; 77%) and sell-through was high: 87% of auction lots sold. Sold versus passed lots did not differ significantly in provenance, provenience, or age disclosure. The market was dominated by small carved objects, netsuke (23.5%) and figurine/carvings (21.4%), with jewellery (12.1%), miniatures/relief art (10.0%) and tableware/utensils (7.5%) following. Price-calibration analyses (sold auctions) showed realised prices averaged c. 11.7% below dealers’ estimate midpoints. A total of 92 listings were recovered from Facebook Marketplace during five sampling sessions between March and May 2025. Collectively, a sizable, unregulated online market exists, moving a wide variety of primarily worked ivory items, including categories of item considered (and marketed) as cultural heritage for specific cultures, and items of potential historic significance. This points to an immediate need for mandatory documentation at point of listing and harmonised state-level regulation; although a comprehensive market closure would be highly preferred, and in-line with many other international jurisdictions.