‘Do you know where I can buy ivory?’: The illegal sale of worked ivory products in Hong Kong
| Author | Rebecca WY Wong |
| Date | 01 June 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0004865817722186 |
| Published date | 01 June 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
‘Do you know where I can
buy ivory?’: The illegal sale
of worked ivory products
in Hong Kong
Rebecca WY Wong
City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Abstract
Set against the theoretical framework of situational crime prevention theory, this paper
analyses the illegal sale of worked ivory products in Hong Kong, which is the city with the
highest number of worked ivory products for retail sale in the world. Based on qualitative
interviews and open sources, this paper shows that legalising the sale of products made from
mammoth tusk and pre-1989 ivory, the low risk of detection, high rewards, justifications
made by offenders, and unique situational conditions have collectively (and indirectly) created
opportunities for traders to sell worked ivory items illegally in Hong Kong. This paper
concludes by offering a discussion on why the illegal sale of ivory products cannot be pre-
vented with situational crime prevention preventive strategies in the long run.
Keywords
Elephants, green criminology, illegal trade, ivory, wildlife
Date received: 10 August 2016; accepted: 26 June 2017
Introduction
The global illegal trade in ivory can be broken down into four stages: (a) poaching
elephant tusks – capturing an elephant in its natural habitat in order to remove its
tusks, which results in the death of the animal; (b) smuggling poached tusks – which
involves smuggling tusks out of the source country into the destination countries; (c)
processing raw ivory into worked ivory products; and (d) selling worked ivory items to
buyers.
This study focuses on the final stage, selling worked ivory products in Hong Kong,
which is the city with the world’s largest number of ivory products on sale for commer-
cial purposes (Martin & Martin, 2011; Martin & Vigne, 2015, p. 8). To date, studies
have focused on conserving the world’s remaining elephants (Roever, van Aarde,
Australian & New Zealand
Journal of Criminology
2018, Vol. 51(2) 204–220
!The Author(s) 2017
Reprints and permissions:
sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0004865817722186
journals.sagepub.com/home/anj
Corresponding author:
Rebecca WY Wong, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Email: rebecca.wywong@cityu.edu.hk
& Leggett, 2013; Wasser et al., 2008) and the effectiveness of the ivory ban
(Lemieux & Clarke, 2009). This paper shows that the illegal sale of worked ivory
products in Hong Kong can be analysed against the theoretical framework of situ-
ational crime prevention (SCP). The analysis fulfils two purposes: to offer the first
theoretical understanding of this illegal market’s operation on the transactional level,
and in so doing, to inform policies on how to combat the illegal sale of worked ivory
products.
The paper unfolds in five sections. The next section gives an overview of the literature
on SCP. Controversies surrounding the global ivory trade and Hong Kong’s role
will then be discussed, followed by a methodology section. This paper then assesses
the illegal sale of worked ivory products in Hong Kong against the theoretical frame-
work of SCP. The final analytical sections of this paper provide a discussion on why
SCP initiatives cannot be applied to prevent the illegal sale of ivory products in the
long term.
Situational analysis of crime
Clarke, one of the foremost architects in the theoretical development of SCP focused on
the immediate extrinsic environment as a cause for offending, rather than the intrinsic
characteristics of the offender (for selected work by Clarke on SCP, see Clarke, 1980,
1983, 1992, 1995). Moving away from the orthodox approach of asking why crime takes
place, SCP endeavours to explain deviant behaviour by asking what the factors are in the
offender’s immediate settings that give rise to opportunities to offend (Benson,
Madensen, & Eck, 2009, p. 176). It follows that crime could be prevented if such
opportunities to offend in social and physical settings are reduced and the risks of
enforcement are increased (Clarke, 1980, p. 139).
Conceptually, SCP is a collection of theoretical ideas working towards reducing
opportunities to commit crime, which is grounded in the concepts of rational choice
and routine activities. Its theoretical foundation is based on the assumption that:
...offenders seek to benefit themselves by their criminal behaviour; that this involves the
making of decisions and choices, however rudimentary on occasion these choices may be;
and that these processes, constrained as they are by time, the offender’s cognitive abilities
and by the availability of relevant information, exhibit limited rather than normal rationality.
(Cornish & Clarke, 1987, p. 933)
Criminals rationally assess the costs and benefits of committing a crime. If there is an
opportunity to offend and obtain reward, coupled with a low chance of detection, then
the offender, as a rational actor, will engage in criminality. As such, the decision to
offend varies depending on the level of risk involved arising from different illegal under-
takings (Clarke, 1992).
SCP also draws influences from Routine Activities Theory, which highlights the envir-
onment as a necessary ingredient for offending, according to Cohen and Felson’s study
(1979). As such, it required three factors for crimes to occur: motivated offenders,
suitable targets, and the absence of capable guardians. Felson argued for the importance
Wong 205
To continue reading
Request your trial