Ivory Trade Loopholes Close as Nations Race to Crush Poachers May 28 2021, 3:37 PM May 28 2021, 12:30 PM May 28 2021, 3:37 PM (Bloomberg) -- Since the 2000âs, an elephant poaching epidemic has raged across Africa, with populations in some areas decimated and multiple species increasingly at risk of being wiped out by humanityâs lust for ivory. (Bloomberg) -- Since the 2000âs, an elephant poaching epidemic has raged across Africa, with populations in some areas decimated and multiple species increasingly at risk of being wiped out by humanityâs lust for ivory. Currently going for about $3,300 per pound, the global trade in ivory is worth about $23 billion annually, a reality made plain by the gruesome photos of butchered elephants that have become almost commonplace. In recent years, massive seizures of ivory seemed to signal a headlong rush toward extermination.