0:00:02 > 0:00:04ELEPHANT GROWLS
0:00:04 > 0:00:06ELEPHANT TRUMPETS
0:00:06 > 0:00:12'Our most iconic African species are being pushed towards extinction,
0:00:12 > 0:00:14'killed by poachers
0:00:14 > 0:00:19'to supply an illegal trade worth up to £15 billion a year.'
0:00:19 > 0:00:20Oh, that's sickening.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24'On the front line of this war are Africa's elephants,
0:00:24 > 0:00:26'slaughtered for their ivory.'
0:00:27 > 0:00:30'Despite a ban on the international ivory trade,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32'the killing is only getting worse.'
0:00:33 > 0:00:38'30,000 are shot every year, and if that continues,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42'they could be gone from the wild within 25 years.'
0:00:45 > 0:00:47'I can't bear to think
0:00:47 > 0:00:52'we might lose these wise and emotionally-intelligent animals.'
0:00:53 > 0:00:55Bulletproof for you...
0:00:55 > 0:00:58'So I'm investigating the violent and murky world
0:00:58 > 0:01:00'of the illegal ivory trade.'
0:01:02 > 0:01:03'Who's doing the killing?'
0:01:03 > 0:01:06- That is quite a weight of lead there, too, isn't it?- Yes.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08'And who's doing the buying and selling?'
0:01:08 > 0:01:10This is our guy.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12'Are we, in the UK, part of the problem?'
0:01:12 > 0:01:17It's going to exactly the same market as the modern poached ivory.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20'And if so, how can I prove it?'
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Six out of nine pieces, illegal.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25'Armed with the facts and the evidence,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28'it's time to do everything we can...'
0:01:28 > 0:01:30- PROTESTERS YELL:- Save our elephants!
0:01:30 > 0:01:31'..for Africa's elephants.'
0:01:43 > 0:01:45If we're going to stop the killing of elephants,
0:01:45 > 0:01:50I need to understand the global trail of poached ivory.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53It's spring 2016,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57and I'm responding to a call that could put me onto that trail.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05At Heathrow, Customs have seized a consignment of fresh ivory.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07It's been smuggled in suitcases
0:02:07 > 0:02:10by two passengers transferring through the airport.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12This is our operational office.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17'I've been invited, by Border Force's Grant Miller,
0:02:17 > 0:02:22'to join zoologist Alex Rhodes as he takes samples from the ivory.'
0:02:23 > 0:02:25Goodness, it's all here.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29This is just shy of 140 kilos of ivory
0:02:29 > 0:02:31that was detected at the UK border.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37'This haul could fetch up to £120,000 on the black market.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42'Some has been roughly worked into beads and bangles,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45'but there are also raw tusks cut up into sections.'
0:02:49 > 0:02:52I didn't expect to see this in England.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55I mean, this, to me, seems like a foreign problem,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58but it's here on our own ground.
0:02:58 > 0:03:04This has something immediate and very brutal about it and...
0:03:04 > 0:03:05you know, this is dried meat,
0:03:05 > 0:03:07this is from inside the elephant's body, isn't it?
0:03:07 > 0:03:09- Absolutely.- It's just...
0:03:09 > 0:03:11It even has a smell to it
0:03:11 > 0:03:14that suggests that this didn't happen very long ago.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19A third of an elephant's tusk is embedded deep in its head,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22so the only way to remove it is by killing the animal.
0:03:24 > 0:03:25You can see the hack marks here...
0:03:25 > 0:03:28where, with a knife or with a machete,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31they've used it to cleave the tusk away from the head of the animal.
0:03:31 > 0:03:32That's right.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Part of Alex's work is to collect samples of recent seizures
0:03:36 > 0:03:38for DNA analysis.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41What we're going to do here is we're going to take the meat off it.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43It doesn't matter if it comes off in pieces.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Yeah, that's perfect.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49'The DNA will be compared to a genetic map of African elephants
0:03:49 > 0:03:52'to pinpoint where these animals were shot.'
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Is there a sort of quantity of material
0:03:54 > 0:03:55we're looking here for, Alex?
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Cos I'm not particularly relishing this task, I can tell you.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01HUGH SIGHS
0:04:01 > 0:04:04If you look closely, you can see this is actually a skull here.
0:04:04 > 0:04:05Oh, my God.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11'The compiled data points to the latest poaching hot spots in Africa,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14'which helps focus anti-poaching efforts on the ground.'
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Hugh, I think you're probably there.
0:04:17 > 0:04:18HUGH EXHALES
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Well, that was horrible.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22I just hope it's useful.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Well, don't we all?
0:04:25 > 0:04:26Don't we all?
0:04:33 > 0:04:35I didn't come here today
0:04:35 > 0:04:39expecting to scrape dead meat off an elephant's tusk.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44I've never touched an elephant's tusk before
0:04:44 > 0:04:48and...I-I don't know, I came looking for...
0:04:48 > 0:04:50I don't know, some kind of insight or understanding
0:04:50 > 0:04:54and I actually feel now viscerally connected to the problem.
0:04:56 > 0:05:02Last year alone, Border Force made 182 seizures of ivory in the UK.
0:05:02 > 0:05:08Worldwide, the tusks of around 5,000 elephants were intercepted.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10But that's just a fraction of the smuggled ivory
0:05:10 > 0:05:13that goes undetected to its destination.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21I need to get to the grim starting point
0:05:21 > 0:05:24in the international trail of illegal ivory.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28The DNA testing of ivory hauls, like the one at Heathrow,
0:05:28 > 0:05:33shows that 78% of recently poached ivory
0:05:33 > 0:05:36is from the savannah elephants of Tanzania and Mozambique.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41So I'm heading to the heart of this killing zone...
0:05:41 > 0:05:44the Niassa Reserve in northern Mozambique.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52It's vast - twice the size of Wales.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56There's only the odd settlement and no big tourist industry.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58In fact, very few people at all.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03We've just dropped down through the clouds
0:06:03 > 0:06:05and the landscape just looks amazing here.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08It's the wildest bit of Africa I've ever seen.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10We really are in the middle of nowhere.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16'The reserve is jointly managed by the Mozambican Government
0:06:16 > 0:06:18'and the Wildlife Conservation Society.'
0:06:18 > 0:06:21- Hi, Rob. - Hugh, welcome to the Niassa Reserve.
0:06:21 > 0:06:22Thank you very much.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25'Rob Craig is the reserve manager.'
0:06:25 > 0:06:27- Popping in the back? - Just jump in here, yeah.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29'With the help of around 100 rangers,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31'his job is to protect this huge area.'
0:06:34 > 0:06:36'To get a handle on the scale of the challenge,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40'he's taking me up onto one of the spectacular outcrops.'
0:06:47 > 0:06:51I think that's the most incredible African view I've ever seen, Rob.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53- That's Niassa.- Yep.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56There's wild dogs there, leopards, hyenas, antelopes.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01You've got, obviously, the elephants and there's over 1,000 lions.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04And why is it so special for Africa's savannah elephants?
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Um, I think it's just... it is one of the key refuges,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09one of the key wilderness areas,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12where elephants can roam in the wild still.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14So, how bad has it been, then?
0:07:14 > 0:07:17I mean, obviously, we've lost a lot of elephants here.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21In 2011, our estimate was about 12,000 elephants.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24- In Niassa? - In Niassa Reserve alone...
0:07:24 > 0:07:29and we've now... In a count we did in 2014, exactly three years later,
0:07:29 > 0:07:31we had dropped to 4,441.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33So nearly two thirds of the elephants
0:07:33 > 0:07:37- have already gone in just the last three years?- Mm-hm.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39- That's a tragedy, isn't it?- Yep.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44At the start of the 20th century,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47there were around 10 million elephants in Africa.
0:07:48 > 0:07:55In 1989, with just 600,000 left, the world finally took decisive action.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Delegates from more than 100 countries
0:07:59 > 0:08:02have agreed to ban all trade in ivory.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04The decision was taken at the United Nations...
0:08:04 > 0:08:08The price of ivory fell and elephant numbers actually began to recover.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11But from the start of the new millennium,
0:08:11 > 0:08:12demand in Asia has boomed
0:08:12 > 0:08:16and poaching has returned to devastating levels.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22ENGINE RATTLES, HUGH MOUTHS
0:08:22 > 0:08:24'Jamie Wilson runs the surveillance
0:08:24 > 0:08:28'for a stretch of the reserve bordering Tanzania.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30'He's offered to take me up in his microlight.'
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Wow, incredible view from up here!
0:08:45 > 0:08:50The microlight is a great tool for us to use, to see what's going on.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54We've been seeing all the elephant signs, all these trails and tracks.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57- All those tracks are made by elephants, are they?- Yes.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00And because of the pressure of the poaching,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03they've become nocturnal and they're hiding now.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07We should be seeing them now, but they're all hiding in the trees.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09So, they've become much harder to spot
0:09:09 > 0:09:11since the poaching got really bad?
0:09:12 > 0:09:15In neighbouring Tanzania, across the river,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18over 60% of the country's elephants have been killed
0:09:18 > 0:09:21in just the last seven years.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24As poachers there have found it harder to track down their target,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27they've come over into Mozambique.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31My problem in this area is the cross-border poaching.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34They hit and run across the border and I can't follow or do anything.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36So, you're basically in the front line
0:09:36 > 0:09:38as the poachers come across from Tanzania?
0:09:38 > 0:09:41That's exactly the word I was looking for, the front line.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Yeah, we might actually see some elephants here,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46I can see some signs.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49There's a mud wallow right there, you can actually see it.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54Oh, yeah. I can actually see the elephants' footprints in the mud.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59Ah, there's some, look. You can see them running into those trees there.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02- Yeah, I can see them, yeah. - You can see their backs.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Yeah, four or five, just moving through the bush.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Wow. My first Niassa elephants.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11I can see them.
0:10:15 > 0:10:16There they are.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Now that we've located some of the elusive Niassa elephants,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29I'm hoping I might get closer to them.
0:10:31 > 0:10:32(There we are.)
0:10:35 > 0:10:36(Wow.)
0:10:39 > 0:10:42(It's absolutely fantastic to see them.)
0:10:45 > 0:10:49(Now, there's something about elephants that's so universal.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53(Familiar. Everybody in the world knows what elephants look like.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55(They've seen them on TV,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57(they've read stories about them when they were kids.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02(But to get this close to elephants that are truly wild
0:11:02 > 0:11:05(in such a beautiful place, there's nothing like it.
0:11:05 > 0:11:06(My heart's thumping.)
0:11:25 > 0:11:27(We were just on our way back to camp
0:11:27 > 0:11:29(and in the last of the evening light...)
0:11:30 > 0:11:32(..we saw this young bull...
0:11:32 > 0:11:35(out here, chomping at the grasses, quite happy.)
0:11:36 > 0:11:40(But to me, away from the herd, out here on his own...)
0:11:41 > 0:11:43(..he somehow looks really vulnerable.)
0:11:51 > 0:11:56'The next morning, I find out just how vulnerable these elephants are.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00'Rob wants to show me the reality of poaching, here, in the reserve.'
0:12:01 > 0:12:05- This is where we start to walk? - This is where we start. So, we're going to head straight this way.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07A few weeks ago,
0:12:07 > 0:12:12this village reported the sound of shots fired in the bush nearby.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Leading the way are the reserve rangers
0:12:16 > 0:12:18who first followed up the report.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30I can smell dead things.
0:12:32 > 0:12:33Wow.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Here we go. Here we go.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42'Part of Rob's work is to confirm the cause of death
0:12:42 > 0:12:45'for any elephant carcasses reported by the rangers.'
0:12:47 > 0:12:48There's nothing left.
0:12:50 > 0:12:51Nothing at all.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Every single bone...picked clean.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03It's obviously been completely ravaged and torn apart by hyenas
0:13:03 > 0:13:05and vultures and predators.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08FLIES BUZZ
0:13:08 > 0:13:10You're looking for, like, evidence of how it died
0:13:10 > 0:13:12and looking for bullet holes and...
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Is that any kind of...? That's not a bullet hole, is it?
0:13:18 > 0:13:20- AK. AK-47?- Yes.
0:13:32 > 0:13:33Yeah. There's two shooters.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35- Two shooters. - The team would be bigger.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Of course.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41'A typical gang will include a couple of men to cut out the tusks
0:13:41 > 0:13:43'and carry them away.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45'Between all of them,
0:13:45 > 0:13:49'they'll probably share as little as £100 for their work.'
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- One small tusk on a subadult.- Mm.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Either they're getting a very good price for their ivory,
0:14:09 > 0:14:11or they just don't mind what they shoot.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12Yeah.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14- HUGH SIGHS - Yeah.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22I guess in some ways it's a relief that I wasn't confronted
0:14:22 > 0:14:24with a more grisly scene here
0:14:24 > 0:14:28of something that had happened... very recently.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31But, unfortunately, there is a grisly scene playing out in my head
0:14:31 > 0:14:35and that's the scene of what actually happened here,
0:14:35 > 0:14:39when this young male with a single small tusk
0:14:39 > 0:14:41ran into a gang of poachers,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44shooting him with at least six or seven shots and hacking out
0:14:44 > 0:14:46that one little tusk.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48It's a horrible scene, it's a horrible thing to think about,
0:14:48 > 0:14:51but the real horror is that this isn't just ONE scene,
0:14:51 > 0:14:56this scene's being played out all over Africa, day after day,
0:14:56 > 0:14:5930,000 times a year.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03This will happen 80 times today in Africa.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27I want to know WHO'S killing elephants so blatantly
0:15:27 > 0:15:29in a national reserve.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34When I start asking around, one of Jamie's scouts, Gustavo,
0:15:34 > 0:15:38mentions a recent encounter with local Mozambique border guards.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16Running for 350km along the edge of the reserve,
0:16:16 > 0:16:20the river Ruvuma marks the border between Tanzania and Mozambique.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23The border guards are employed by the Government
0:16:23 > 0:16:26to monitor and patrol this boundary.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30But Gustavo's story suggests there may be something else
0:16:30 > 0:16:32going on at this stretch of river.
0:16:32 > 0:16:33To dig deeper,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37we drive to a nearby village where the local border guards are based,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40and one of them lets me through the checkpoint.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46As tradition dictates,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50my translator Alberto and I go to talk to the chief first.
0:16:50 > 0:16:51THEY SPEAK LOCAL LANGUAGE
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Have you heard about the problems
0:16:55 > 0:16:57of elephants being killed in the reserve
0:16:57 > 0:16:59and their ivory being taken away?
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Are people still coming into the reserve now to kill elephants
0:17:18 > 0:17:20or has it stopped?
0:17:27 > 0:17:32It feels to me that the chief knows more, but doesn't want to speak out.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36With 8,000 elephants killed in their reserve in the last five years,
0:17:36 > 0:17:38the villagers must know something.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44'And when Alberto does some discreet asking around,
0:17:44 > 0:17:48'one local farmer says he IS prepared to talk to me.'
0:17:49 > 0:17:54So we can speak in private, Khamati suggests that we head to his fields.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Do elephants come here often, or not so much now?
0:18:03 > 0:18:06And who are the people who are coming to shoot the elephants?
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Do they live in the reserve or do they come from outside the reserve?
0:18:29 > 0:18:31So, Tanzanian poachers...
0:18:31 > 0:18:34- Yes.- ..are coming over the river...
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Yes.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38..and they pick up guns from the border guards?
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Khamati tells me that once the poachers have done their work,
0:19:16 > 0:19:20they hand the guns back to the border guards and smuggle the ivory
0:19:20 > 0:19:22across the river into Tanzania.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27I don't want to create problems for the villagers
0:19:27 > 0:19:30by openly challenging the guards here...
0:19:30 > 0:19:32but I CAN test how well they're monitoring
0:19:32 > 0:19:35illegal crossings of the border.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38There's no official border point here,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42so I wonder what'll happen if I try and cross,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45clearly in their view, without any papers.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48We're nearly halfway.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00What sort of things do people bring across the river?
0:20:00 > 0:20:04They can bring some crops, bicycles, motorbike.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06- Motorbikes?- Yes.
0:20:06 > 0:20:07Things to buy and sell.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12OK.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14Tanzania, we're nearly there.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Ooh...
0:20:19 > 0:20:20Salama!
0:20:24 > 0:20:26I'm on Tanzanian soil.
0:20:27 > 0:20:28Well, that was easy.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32If you want to get illegal ivory
0:20:32 > 0:20:35across the river into Tanzania and away,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37it couldn't be easier.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Who's going to stop you?
0:20:39 > 0:20:42The people who should stop it, the border guards,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44they're involved.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52So, what hope is there for the elephants of the Niassa Reserve
0:20:52 > 0:20:54that I've been with for the last couple of days,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58that I've seen looking so stunning in that incredible landscape,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02but also lying slaughtered in the bush?
0:21:03 > 0:21:06The slaughter's just going to go on.
0:21:10 > 0:21:11Once across the river,
0:21:11 > 0:21:16the ivory flows into a well-established web of traffickers,
0:21:16 > 0:21:17travelling north through Tanzania.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22At each stage, it's passed up the criminal chain.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Evidence suggests it can often be handed on
0:21:25 > 0:21:28from Tanzanians to Chinese kingpins,
0:21:28 > 0:21:33who know it can fetch up to £1,000 a kilo on the Asian market.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39It's hard to get a fix on the ivory during this murky journey...
0:21:39 > 0:21:43until it reaches a pinch point as it leaves the continent.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45And a mountain of evidence suggests that Kenya
0:21:45 > 0:21:47is one of the key exit points.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04I'm on my way to Mombasa port
0:22:04 > 0:22:06because it's clear that a lot of ivory
0:22:06 > 0:22:08is getting out through Mombasa.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11In fact, in the last year, there've been two enormous seizures,
0:22:11 > 0:22:13but they weren't actually at the port,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15they were at the other end, on arrival -
0:22:15 > 0:22:19one of them in Thailand and the other in Singapore.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24"Thailand seizes 500 elephant tusks worth £4 million, which were hidden
0:22:24 > 0:22:27"in sacks of tea leaves on a ship from Kenya."
0:22:27 > 0:22:31So, they got through Mombasa without being detected.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34And I want to find out just how leaky this port is.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Mombasa is the busiest port in east Africa,
0:22:38 > 0:22:42with over a million containers passing through here every year.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47The port authorities are notoriously sensitive about journalists.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52But I have managed to get permission to film with the sniffer dog squad.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56- Hi, Mark.- Hello.- Hello again.
0:22:56 > 0:22:57'Mark Kinyua is in charge
0:22:57 > 0:23:00'of the unit of two dogs and their handlers.'
0:23:00 > 0:23:01Thank you. Good to meet you.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06'Diva and Rum can detect the faintest scent of ivory.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08'But there are thousands of containers
0:23:08 > 0:23:10'passing through here every day
0:23:10 > 0:23:13'and these two dogs also have to cover the airport
0:23:13 > 0:23:17'and a long stretch of the Kenya coastline.'
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Ah, it's wood. 100% wood. Incredible smell!
0:23:22 > 0:23:24How many days a week are you here with your dogs?
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Yesterday we were here,
0:23:26 > 0:23:28so sometimes we come four days in a week, three days in a week,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31depending on the amount of work outside.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34And what's the biggest number of containers you would look at
0:23:34 > 0:23:36in a single day's work?
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Perhaps...four or something...
0:23:38 > 0:23:39- OK.- Yes.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42So, two, three, four days a week...
0:23:42 > 0:23:44- Two, three, four containers a day. - Exactly.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48Customs and the port's X-ray container scanning unit
0:23:48 > 0:23:53decide which containers to send for further checks by the dogs.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57So, how much success have you had with the sniffer dog team,
0:23:57 > 0:23:58here, in Mombasa port?
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Isn't part of the problem here
0:24:04 > 0:24:05that it's a tiny amount of containers that
0:24:05 > 0:24:07you're actually searching?
0:24:07 > 0:24:10- I mean, 15 or 20 a week at the most? - Exactly.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13You've just seen - how many containers are we going through...?
0:24:13 > 0:24:15I think three, four now.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18Three or four this morning, and none of them are destined for Asia.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20- And none of them are destined for Asia.- All right.- Yes, yes.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24It's clear to me that Mark and his dogs
0:24:24 > 0:24:26are looking for needles in haystacks
0:24:26 > 0:24:29and I don't think they're being given
0:24:29 > 0:24:30the right haystacks to look in.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34Now that I'm inside the port,
0:24:34 > 0:24:37I've got a chance to do a bit more digging.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39I tracked down the X-ray scanner
0:24:39 > 0:24:41that's meant to be checking containers
0:24:41 > 0:24:43at one of the main entries into the port.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49Well, we're just outside the scanning unit here.
0:24:49 > 0:24:50It's this big shed.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52The really interesting thing
0:24:52 > 0:24:54is that there's a huge queue of containers there
0:24:54 > 0:24:57to go into the port and it doesn't really look as if a lot of them
0:24:57 > 0:25:00are being diverted through the scanner.
0:25:00 > 0:25:01Hi.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03'It's not long before our camera
0:25:03 > 0:25:06'attracts the attention of the head of scanning.'
0:25:06 > 0:25:08I'm Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from the BBC.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10'With a little encouragement,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13'he agrees to show me how his scanner works.'
0:25:13 > 0:25:15So, what we shall do...
0:25:15 > 0:25:18I'll scan an import consignment,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21- because this is an import consignment.- OK.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25'He instructs one of the lorries to drive through the scanner.'
0:25:32 > 0:25:33Come and see, come and see.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35OK, I think it's pretty obvious what's in that one!
0:25:35 > 0:25:38'The scanner can clearly be an effective tool.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42'The question is - how's it being used?'
0:25:42 > 0:25:44So, I'm just trying to establish
0:25:44 > 0:25:49what the percentage of full containers
0:25:49 > 0:25:52leaving Mombasa is being scanned.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57What normally happens is that there's no container
0:25:57 > 0:26:00that is completely exempt from scanning,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04but for the authorised economic operators,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08who we normally select at a random basis, yeah...?
0:26:08 > 0:26:11- Ah.- ..a number of their containers for scanning.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13Ah. So, authorised economic operators,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15is that mainly tea companies?
0:26:15 > 0:26:17- Tea. Tea.- Only tea?
0:26:17 > 0:26:18- Tea.- It's tea? We're talking about tea?
0:26:18 > 0:26:21So, everything's scanned except the tea companies,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24who are tested on a random basis?
0:26:24 > 0:26:29It's interesting that two loads of ivory
0:26:29 > 0:26:35were intercepted in Thailand and Singapore that had come from Mombasa
0:26:35 > 0:26:38and they were both in consignments of tea.
0:26:39 > 0:26:40I will not respond to that.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46- You don't want to talk about that at all?- I don't want to talk about it.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49How confident are you personally
0:26:49 > 0:26:53that no ivory is leaving Kenya through the port of Mombasa -
0:26:53 > 0:26:54either in the last few months
0:26:54 > 0:26:56and it won't happen for the next few months?
0:26:56 > 0:26:59100%. 100%.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05I find it hard to share the head of scanning's confidence about that.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09Even when the scanner IS working,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12the exemption of certain companies from routine scanning
0:27:12 > 0:27:13is clearly a problem.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18Especially as they deal in the very product
0:27:18 > 0:27:22in which large hauls of ivory have twice recently been found...
0:27:22 > 0:27:23Tea.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27CAR HORNS BEEP
0:27:28 > 0:27:31We've been putting some feelers out and we've been in touch
0:27:31 > 0:27:32with a few local journalists,
0:27:32 > 0:27:36trying to find out a bit more about what's really going on at the port
0:27:36 > 0:27:40and one of our contacts has come back, saying he's found someone
0:27:40 > 0:27:43who works at the port who might be prepared to talk to us
0:27:43 > 0:27:46and could throw some light on the whole situation.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53'We've agreed a rendezvous at a mall car park.'
0:27:53 > 0:27:55OK. Let me just walk over...
0:27:56 > 0:27:57..and get in the back.
0:27:59 > 0:28:00'The source -
0:28:00 > 0:28:03'who's directly involved with checking containers at the port -
0:28:03 > 0:28:05'is extremely nervous.'
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Good afternoon, it's... I'm Hugh.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17'We agree to relocate to somewhere less conspicuous.'
0:28:18 > 0:28:22Do you...? Do you mind if I ask you a few questions then?
0:28:22 > 0:28:24How do you think it might be possible
0:28:24 > 0:28:28that people are managing to get ivory through the system
0:28:28 > 0:28:29at Mombasa port,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32past the scanners and past the inspections?
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Do you want to park here and we can just continue to chat?
0:28:55 > 0:28:57So, the containers that are vulnerable
0:28:57 > 0:28:59are the ones from the big companies,
0:28:59 > 0:29:01- that it's the same over and over again.- Exactly, because...
0:29:01 > 0:29:03- It's like the routine.- Mm-hm and...
0:29:11 > 0:29:13What about when it gets to the port?
0:29:13 > 0:29:14Somebody at the port must know
0:29:14 > 0:29:18that that particular container mustn't be scanned.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29People can be induced not to scan the container?
0:29:35 > 0:29:39This isn't evidence against any particular individual,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42but it does suggest the billions being made in this trade
0:29:42 > 0:29:46buys enough turned heads at international borders like Mombasa
0:29:46 > 0:29:49for tonnes of ivory to get through.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55From here, the vast majority of smuggled ivory
0:29:55 > 0:29:57makes its way east towards Asia...
0:29:59 > 0:30:01..where one city has long been a central hub
0:30:01 > 0:30:03for the Asian ivory trade.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11Ivory has been part of the culture here for centuries.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14But modern consumption really began to take off
0:30:14 > 0:30:16under the British administration,
0:30:16 > 0:30:19during the boom years of the Hong Kong economy
0:30:19 > 0:30:21from the 1960s onwards.
0:30:22 > 0:30:27By 1987, Hong Kong's ivory workshops were consuming over a third
0:30:27 > 0:30:29of the world's raw ivory.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35I'm just heading out for a little explore.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37A bit of Hong Kong antiques window shopping.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40I just want to get a feel for what's on offer
0:30:40 > 0:30:42in this famously cosmopolitan city.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46The international ban in 1989
0:30:46 > 0:30:49was meant to stop the flow of fresh African ivory.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52But, here in Hong Kong,
0:30:52 > 0:30:56there's still a legal domestic trade in pre-'89 ivory,
0:30:56 > 0:31:00with 371 businesses licensed to sell it.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06So, where's all this ivory coming from?
0:31:06 > 0:31:09Have the traders found ways of beating the ban?
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Of laundering newly-poached African ivory?
0:31:13 > 0:31:14Can we come in?
0:31:16 > 0:31:18Is it OK to come in and do a little bit of filming?
0:31:18 > 0:31:21- No, no, no.- No?- No.- Why not?
0:31:21 > 0:31:24This trader isn't at all keen to talk to me,
0:31:24 > 0:31:27and quickly shuts up shop.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30In fact, most of the traders here
0:31:30 > 0:31:33are clear about their attitude to cameras.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38Then, in a row of smart antique shops,
0:31:38 > 0:31:42I see a particularly spectacular window display.
0:31:42 > 0:31:43Wow.
0:31:44 > 0:31:45That is staggering.
0:31:47 > 0:31:49It's just incredible craftsmanship.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55Ivory is clearly a remarkable material,
0:31:55 > 0:31:59and the sheer skill and time required to work it
0:31:59 > 0:32:02explains why some of the larger pieces here
0:32:02 > 0:32:05are priced at over 1 million US dollars.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09But this isn't elephant ivory.
0:32:13 > 0:32:14Mammoth tusks.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19"Our artworks are carved out from rare mammoth tusks
0:32:19 > 0:32:22"that have been frozen for tens of thousands of years."
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Mammoth ivory is entirely legal here.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31So is elephant ivory from before the 1989 ban.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34And here is a problem.
0:32:34 > 0:32:36Because - if it's recently carved -
0:32:36 > 0:32:42mammoth ivory, pre-1989 ivory and freshly poached ivory
0:32:42 > 0:32:44all look the same.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49Customs seizures here suggest that new ivory
0:32:49 > 0:32:52is regularly being smuggled into Hong Kong.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56It seems possible that Hong Kong traders could be passing off
0:32:56 > 0:32:59African poached ivory as the legal stuff.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01- Hi, Alex. How are you? - How's it going?
0:33:01 > 0:33:04'For clues on how they might be able to do this,
0:33:04 > 0:33:08'I'm meeting up with Hong Kong wildlife campaigner Alex Hofford.'
0:33:09 > 0:33:12I guess what I can see straight away, just wandering round,
0:33:12 > 0:33:14is that it's a little bit of a minefield,
0:33:14 > 0:33:16what's legal and what's isn't.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18But I imagine, if I walk into a shop,
0:33:18 > 0:33:19someone's going to tell me that it's legal.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Yeah, I mean, that's the thing.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25It's that it's actually very, very difficult for law enforcement,
0:33:25 > 0:33:27for the media, for NGOs and for the public,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30for anybody to really understand what the hell's going on.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33Is it pre-convention, or is it from after 1989? Who knows?
0:33:33 > 0:33:35And it's a big mess right now.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38So, what we know has been happening is that...
0:33:38 > 0:33:42The amount of ivory that was in Hong Kong at the time of the ban in 1990
0:33:42 > 0:33:45was 670 tonnes. OK?
0:33:45 > 0:33:48And then it went down quite sharply and then it plateaued out.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51And it's been plateauing ever since. And the reason it's plateauing
0:33:51 > 0:33:54is because the traders have been feeding poached ivory from Africa
0:33:54 > 0:33:56into their existing stockpiles.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58And so that's where the laundering's been going on.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00They're buying from the criminal networks,
0:34:00 > 0:34:02perhaps the Triads... Right?
0:34:02 > 0:34:05..who are then buying from the other Triad groups in Africa,
0:34:05 > 0:34:07who are buying it off the poachers.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09So that's the supply chain.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12How many traders or shops have been successfully prosecuted
0:34:12 > 0:34:15and put out of business for selling illegal ivory?
0:34:15 > 0:34:16- None.- Not one?
0:34:16 > 0:34:18Not one, no.
0:34:18 > 0:34:19There's a lot of loopholes.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23You know, the traders, they basically know how to play the game.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25They've been playing the game since 1989
0:34:25 > 0:34:28and so they know every trick in the book.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30'To connect the Hong Kong ivory trade
0:34:30 > 0:34:33'with the killing of African elephants,
0:34:33 > 0:34:35'I need to prove that the shops here
0:34:35 > 0:34:38'are constantly restocking their shelves with fresh ivory.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42'I can't really do that with a camera crew in tow,
0:34:42 > 0:34:44'so I'm going undercover.'
0:34:44 > 0:34:46So I'm going ivory shopping.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50But to do that convincingly, I need a cover story.
0:34:50 > 0:34:51And this is it.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53My name's Hugh Edmund,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56and I've started a business called Far Flung Foods.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59"Exotic foods and gifts for adventurous spirits."
0:34:59 > 0:35:03But the real connection between Far Flung Foods and ivory
0:35:03 > 0:35:05all boils down to one thing.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Chopsticks.
0:35:08 > 0:35:13'My cover story is that I'm in the market for a lot of ivory chopsticks
0:35:13 > 0:35:15'as gifts for my best clients.'
0:35:15 > 0:35:16Hi, come on in. Have a seat.
0:35:16 > 0:35:17'My undercover partner
0:35:17 > 0:35:21'and translator for the day is local campaigner Willy.'
0:35:21 > 0:35:23So, here's the next thing.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27- We need to do some secret filming in there.- OK.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31And I've got one very simple bit of kit, which I'd like you to use.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33So we're recording now.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36- In fact, we're probably pointing at our crew here.- OK.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38If you're happy to wear this,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42we should get very clear sound from both you and whoever we talk to.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44- So, if you pop that in your pocket. - Yeah.- OK?
0:35:44 > 0:35:46- Yeah. Perfect.- Let's do it.
0:35:55 > 0:35:56DOOR CHIMES
0:35:56 > 0:35:59- Morning. Thank you. AUTOMATED VOICE:- 'Hello. Welcome.'
0:35:59 > 0:36:01- Hello.- Hi, how are you? - I'm good, thank you.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03Do you sell ivory chopsticks?
0:36:03 > 0:36:04Yes, we do.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06So, I have a business.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08OK, yes. Yes. OK, yeah.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10And so I might want quite a lot.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12Sure, sure, yes. No problem at all, yes.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14Maybe 50 pairs to begin with.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16And this is elephant ivory, not mammoth?
0:36:16 > 0:36:19- Yes.- It's elephant?- Elephant.- OK.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23Do you think this would be easy for me to take this back to the UK?
0:36:26 > 0:36:274am?
0:36:27 > 0:36:294am, Heathrow?
0:36:29 > 0:36:32- No customs?- Yeah, yeah.- Very clever.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36'It's a useful tip if you're smuggling ivory into the UK.
0:36:36 > 0:36:37'Which is, of course, illegal.'
0:36:37 > 0:36:40How are you? Are you mostly mammoth, or mostly ivory here?
0:36:42 > 0:36:43These look good.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46So, I might want quite a lot.
0:36:46 > 0:36:47Like, maybe 50 pairs.
0:36:50 > 0:36:51OK. Thank you.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58- Hi.- Hello.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02I'm interested in buying quite a lot of chopsticks.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04What does that literally say there?
0:37:08 > 0:37:10This is from the Congo?
0:37:11 > 0:37:12Is this new ivory?
0:37:16 > 0:37:17Before 1989?
0:37:17 > 0:37:20So the ivory's old, but are the chopsticks new?
0:37:27 > 0:37:30That went well. A huge amount of product in there.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33- Yeah.- Huge. I mean, thousands of figurines.
0:37:33 > 0:37:34He said he's got a factory.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37You know, the implication is that they're churning that stuff out,
0:37:37 > 0:37:39they can do it to order.
0:37:39 > 0:37:44They've got a factory ready to pump out new pieces of ivory on demand
0:37:44 > 0:37:45to a customer's designs.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52How's that possible 25 years after the Hong Kong stockpile of ivory
0:37:52 > 0:37:55was supposed to stop growing in any way, shape or form?
0:38:00 > 0:38:03I need to find out where these fresh supplies are coming from.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08But my cover story's taken me as far as I can go,
0:38:08 > 0:38:10and I need some more help.
0:38:10 > 0:38:11Thanks so much for coming, guys.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14'Ray and James - not their real names -
0:38:14 > 0:38:18'are undercover operators ready to pose as credible buyers
0:38:18 > 0:38:21'from the biggest Asian market of all -
0:38:21 > 0:38:22'mainland China.'
0:38:22 > 0:38:26I think my opportunities as a Westerner are really limited.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29If they're going to open up, they need to have a sense
0:38:29 > 0:38:31that they're talking to someone who's a bit of a player,
0:38:31 > 0:38:35who's interested in doing a bigger bit of business with them.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37And you guys are going to fit that bill so much better.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48OK, so you basically want to buy tusks.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50Yeah, I mean that's going to cut straight to the chase.
0:38:53 > 0:38:54It's a camera pen.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56I've got a little mic pack here,
0:38:56 > 0:38:58with a light wire.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01Really, really straightforward.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03Really look forward to catching up with you later.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06- Good luck, guys.- Good luck. - Yeah. Seriously.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11While Ray and James hit the shops undercover,
0:39:11 > 0:39:15I'm going for the best open interview I can get -
0:39:15 > 0:39:20the company secretary of the Hong Kong Ivory Manufacturers Association
0:39:20 > 0:39:22has agreed to be filmed at his workshop.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26Thank you very much for inviting me in.
0:39:26 > 0:39:27His name is Daniel Chan.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34- Mammoth?- Yeah.- OK.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44- This is mammoth material. - This is mammoth tusks, is it?
0:39:44 > 0:39:48- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.- Let's have a little look at them.- Yeah.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51This is all mammoth?
0:39:51 > 0:39:52Yeah.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56- Is this also mammoth?- Yes.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58Right. I'll take your word for it.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00I've seen your figures, your carvings,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02- in the cases on the way in. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04Where is that ivory from?
0:40:12 > 0:40:15- Well, let's have a look at it, and you can tell me.- OK.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17OK.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21- Mm. This is all elephant ivory? - Yeah.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23So when were these made?
0:40:31 > 0:40:35I really don't think so. These pieces are new.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40Because there's just...
0:40:40 > 0:40:44They didn't have that plastic wrapping technology in 1990.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50Your telling me these pieces were made before 1990?
0:40:53 > 0:40:54OK.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04- These two?- These also.
0:41:04 > 0:41:05He made these pieces?
0:41:05 > 0:41:09- Yeah.- Really? In 1990?- Er, yeah.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12So, all these really fresh, new-looking pieces,
0:41:12 > 0:41:15shrink-wrapped in plastic, were made by your father?
0:41:16 > 0:41:18It just seems very unlikely to me.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25You're saying you have bought no ivory from elephants since 1990?
0:41:25 > 0:41:27None? Zero?
0:41:28 > 0:41:29Yeah?
0:41:37 > 0:41:42Really? Preconvention ivory from Europe? Can you buy that?
0:41:42 > 0:41:43- Yes.- That's legal?
0:41:43 > 0:41:45Yes. Now.
0:41:45 > 0:41:46Now.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Have you bought European ivory yourself?
0:42:00 > 0:42:01- Yes.- When?
0:42:04 > 0:42:07- You were buying and selling European ivory last year?- Yeah.
0:42:07 > 0:42:12How can you prove that this ivory is preconvention or pre-1990?
0:42:12 > 0:42:14How can you prove it? DANIEL SIGHS
0:42:17 > 0:42:20So, you bought this preconvention ivory and it's from Europe?
0:42:20 > 0:42:21Yeah, licensed.
0:42:23 > 0:42:24You read for yourself.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27Country of re-export, the Netherlands.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29And the country of origin is Mozambique.
0:42:29 > 0:42:34- Here.- "Preconvention specimen acquired during 1960 to 1970."
0:42:34 > 0:42:36- Yeah.- Pretty vague.
0:42:36 > 0:42:37It's been stamped, er...
0:42:38 > 0:42:41..and licensed for re-export at the Hague.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49If that's a legal document, why are you snatching it away from me?
0:42:52 > 0:42:53You are not my customer.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56And even now, I don't know, who are you?
0:42:57 > 0:42:58Nonsense!
0:42:58 > 0:43:01You wanted to show me your licence, so I thought you were happy for...
0:43:01 > 0:43:03I showed you. I have a licence.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06- OK, so I thought... - Because you are not my customer.
0:43:06 > 0:43:07I cannot show to you.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09This is private.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11- I thought you...- Secret. OK?
0:43:13 > 0:43:16'I think our conversation has reached its conclusion.
0:43:17 > 0:43:22'But I have discovered one of the ways that ivory shops in Hong Kong
0:43:22 > 0:43:23'are being re-stocked.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26'And it's one which clearly has the potential
0:43:26 > 0:43:28'to launder poached ivory, too.'
0:43:30 > 0:43:33So, it seems that you can bring ivory into Hong Kong
0:43:33 > 0:43:37if it's preconvention ivory and particularly from the EU,
0:43:37 > 0:43:41there's...a paperwork, a system, that allows you to bring it in.
0:43:41 > 0:43:46So, they can bring in EU ivory and rework it and sell it legally.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49You know, I feel pretty uneasy about that.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52I mean, that's basically...
0:43:52 > 0:43:55the idea that Europe's off-loading its stocks of ivory
0:43:55 > 0:43:57that it's no longer particularly interested in,
0:43:57 > 0:44:02in order to make money and, at the same time, fuel the ivory trade.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04OK, it's legal,
0:44:04 > 0:44:08but it's still perpetuating the supply of ivory to Hong Kong
0:44:08 > 0:44:11and adding extra possible cover for illegal imports.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13I don't think that's a very responsible thing
0:44:13 > 0:44:14for the EU to be doing.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20Ray and James are back from their undercover trawl,
0:44:20 > 0:44:22and I'm wondering if they've unearthed
0:44:22 > 0:44:25any evidence of recently-poached African ivory.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28I've got you back lit again.
0:44:28 > 0:44:29Can't wait to see what you've got.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32- Yes.- And, er... Any good?
0:44:32 > 0:44:33- Yeah.- Let's have a look.
0:44:34 > 0:44:39We went to shop number three and we just asked,
0:44:39 > 0:44:42"We want some raw material for ivory tusks."
0:44:58 > 0:44:59This is the boss?
0:45:02 > 0:45:03This is ivory here, isn't it?
0:45:05 > 0:45:06That's a lot of ivory.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11- Oh, my God. Can I pause it there? - Yes.
0:45:12 > 0:45:13Wow.
0:45:14 > 0:45:15That's a lot of ivory.
0:45:18 > 0:45:19That was just lying on the floor?
0:45:21 > 0:45:23Wow.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34So that's also from Europe?
0:45:37 > 0:45:40Old ivory from Europe again -
0:45:40 > 0:45:42dozens of whole tusks this time.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46Like Mr Chan, this dealer says it's legal.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48But what's shocking here is the scale of it.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59He's got access to 200 tonnes of ivory in France.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01- Yes.- All old ivory.
0:46:01 > 0:46:02All old ivory.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19It seems that quite a lot of people in Europe are selling their ivory
0:46:19 > 0:46:22and quite a lot of it's ending up here in Hong Kong.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32It certainly sounds a less risky way to bring ivory into Hong Kong
0:46:32 > 0:46:35than bringing freshly-poached African ivory.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39But it could also be a cover for freshly-poached African ivory.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42Fascinating and, I think, really useful stuff.
0:46:42 > 0:46:43Thank you so much.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47- Thank you.- Real pleasure working with you.- My pleasure.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56The ivory trade here is clearly being replenished and fuelled
0:46:56 > 0:47:00by material coming from right under our noses in Europe,
0:47:00 > 0:47:02and all apparently legal.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05With Hong Kong's lax enforcement -
0:47:05 > 0:47:08zero prosecutions to date, remember -
0:47:08 > 0:47:13it would be so easy to quietly add recently-poached African ivory
0:47:13 > 0:47:16to your pile of recently-imported European ivory.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18I'm on my way to the airport.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21I'm flying back to the UK tonight,
0:47:21 > 0:47:24and I've literally just downloaded a video clip,
0:47:24 > 0:47:27sent by one of our contacts in Hong Kong,
0:47:27 > 0:47:29of some undercover filming they did.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31And it's quite clearly the same trader
0:47:31 > 0:47:34who was talking to my guys from the mainland
0:47:34 > 0:47:36about the European ivory.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38It's the same office, same guy.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42And, actually, here you can just see it's the same tusks.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44So it must be very recently.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47But in this clip, he says quite clearly here,
0:47:47 > 0:47:50"I can get ivory from Africa any time.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52"And I can sell it to you."
0:47:59 > 0:48:01So, the question I've been pondering,
0:48:01 > 0:48:04about whether this preconvention European ivory
0:48:04 > 0:48:07that's being imported legally into Hong Kong
0:48:07 > 0:48:11could be being used as cover for illegal African ivory,
0:48:11 > 0:48:12seems to be answered here.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18He's selling European ivory, he's offering to sell African ivory.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22The two are being mingled by the same dealer, in the same office.
0:48:23 > 0:48:27And if he's doing it, it seems likely others are doing it, too.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32The sheer quantity of European ivory reaching Asia
0:48:32 > 0:48:33has been a real eye-opener.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40And my next question is, "How much of it's coming from the UK?"
0:48:43 > 0:48:47Historically, we've certainly been deeply involved
0:48:47 > 0:48:48with the ivory trade.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51In this London warehouse, where tusks have been coming in
0:48:51 > 0:48:54since the days of Charles II, the latest consignments
0:48:54 > 0:48:57are cut up for the first stage of their transformation
0:48:57 > 0:49:01into ivory-backed brushes, mirrors and combs.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04To satisfy the fancies of an expanding middle class,
0:49:04 > 0:49:09between 1860 and 1920, Britain imported the tusks
0:49:09 > 0:49:13of an estimated 1.1 million African elephants.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16That's more than twice as many elephants
0:49:16 > 0:49:18as are alive in Africa today.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24The sale or export of raw ivory is now banned in the UK.
0:49:26 > 0:49:27But, surprising as it may seem,
0:49:27 > 0:49:30the trade in antique ivory pieces is still legal.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36Although the Conservative Party promised to press for a total ban
0:49:36 > 0:49:41on the UK ivory market in both their 2010 and 2015 manifestos,
0:49:41 > 0:49:45here we are in the summer of 2016, and it still hasn't happened.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50And you can find ivory pieces on sale all over Britain -
0:49:50 > 0:49:55in auctions, antique shops and increasingly online.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58So who's doing the buying?
0:49:58 > 0:50:00And where does UK ivory end up?
0:50:00 > 0:50:01Come in.
0:50:01 > 0:50:05'I've asked auctioneer and TV antiques expert James Lewis
0:50:05 > 0:50:08'to help me take a look at the market.'
0:50:08 > 0:50:09Just have a seat.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13I've been looking at some of the online auctions that you mentioned.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16What's your estimate of how many ivory pieces
0:50:16 > 0:50:18get sold in the UK in the average week?
0:50:19 > 0:50:21500 to 1,000 pieces, I should think.
0:50:21 > 0:50:25- Really?- Yeah.- So, sort of 20,000 to 50,000 pieces a year?
0:50:25 > 0:50:29Really? Do you have any sense of who the buyers normally are?
0:50:29 > 0:50:32Yeah, as an auctioneer, when you're on the rostrum,
0:50:32 > 0:50:37you see the live bidding numbers flashing up on your screen.
0:50:37 > 0:50:41And in the top right-hand corner, there's a code. A country code.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43So you know exactly where those bids are coming from.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45And when you get a solid block -
0:50:45 > 0:50:48something carved, that has a weight to it -
0:50:48 > 0:50:50that's where the Chinese and Vietnamese are buying it.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54- So they're ending up on sale in the same countries that are...- Yeah.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57- ..that have a high demand for illegal ivory.- Yeah.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00Tell me exactly what the rules are here.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03I mean, people selling this, what are they allowed to sell?
0:51:03 > 0:51:04What are they not allowed to sell?
0:51:04 > 0:51:09Anything really pre-1947 is legal to sell.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13- That's the critical date?- That's the rule.- I mean, some of them,
0:51:13 > 0:51:15it's not really clear how old they are at all.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18They don't even necessarily put a date on anything here.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20Yeah, see that's the problem. It is so difficult.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24It's not like a piece of silver that has a hallmark, where you can say,
0:51:24 > 0:51:26"That dates to that year."
0:51:26 > 0:51:29And when it's so difficult, it's difficult to enforce the law
0:51:29 > 0:51:34and it's difficult to ensure that you're not breaking the law.
0:51:34 > 0:51:38'I show James what's on sale over the next couple of days.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40'I'm wondering if he can spot any pieces
0:51:40 > 0:51:42'that might be breaking the law.'
0:51:42 > 0:51:44Let's just scroll down and stop at anything
0:51:44 > 0:51:47that you think looks particularly interesting, James.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49I mean, here's a solid ivory piece.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51I'm quite suspicious of that.
0:51:51 > 0:51:55It's got the pale colour, it's got the inked beard.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58It-it hasn't faded at all.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01So, if I wanted to prove beyond doubt
0:52:01 > 0:52:04that there is illegal, post-1947 ivory
0:52:04 > 0:52:07being traded in the UK on sites like this,
0:52:07 > 0:52:11buying this piece and getting it dated could prove that?
0:52:11 > 0:52:14- Yeah. It's worth giving it a go.- OK.
0:52:14 > 0:52:19'This piece is one of dozens being auctioned live online today.'
0:52:19 > 0:52:2160. 70.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24- AUCTIONEER:- 'Five.' - Do you want to bid?- Yeah.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26- Somebody's also very keen on this piece.- Yeah.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28Do you want to go to 140?
0:52:28 > 0:52:30We're going up in tens now. Yeah.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32'140. Internet there, 140.'
0:52:32 > 0:52:34- Ooh, they're telling us we've won. - GAVEL BANGS
0:52:34 > 0:52:37- Yep, there we go.- Oh, we've got it. Gosh.- OK.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39'With the help of James's keen eye,
0:52:39 > 0:52:42'I buy several more pieces that look a bit suspect.'
0:52:42 > 0:52:43Available for...
0:52:43 > 0:52:45'I'm sending them off for the one test
0:52:45 > 0:52:49'that can prove their age and legality beyond doubt.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51'Radiocarbon dating.'
0:52:51 > 0:52:55It will be interesting to see how old this piece turns out to be,
0:52:55 > 0:52:58but there's really no question that European ivory
0:52:58 > 0:53:01is heading over to China and other Asian countries,
0:53:01 > 0:53:04where it's continuing to stimulate a market
0:53:04 > 0:53:06- that definitely includes illegal ivory.- Yeah.
0:53:06 > 0:53:11Exactly the same market as the modern poached ivory.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17So how much UK ivory is making its way to Asia?
0:53:18 > 0:53:20Official figures from the Hong Kong Government
0:53:20 > 0:53:25show that, last year, over 2,500 pieces of UK ivory
0:53:25 > 0:53:27arrived in Hong Kong alone -
0:53:27 > 0:53:30more than twice as many as the previous year.
0:53:34 > 0:53:39The radiocarbon dating work on my UK ivory purchases is complete.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41So I'm heading to Oxford University
0:53:41 > 0:53:44to meet Professor Chris Ramsey for the big result.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49- Chris. Hi.- Ah, hello. - How are you?- Very nice to meet you.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51- Very nice to see you. How's it going?- Good.
0:53:51 > 0:53:52Oh, and here they are.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55Yes, that's right. So these are the ivories.
0:53:55 > 0:53:58So you've taken a tiny amount of ivory from each object.
0:53:58 > 0:53:59What have you done with it then?
0:53:59 > 0:54:04Yeah, so that powdered ivory is just purified and converted into a form
0:54:04 > 0:54:07that we can then measure it on our accelerator mass spectrometer.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09- The accelerator mass spectrometer? - That's right.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12This vast machine collects
0:54:12 > 0:54:16and counts the carbon-14 atoms from our samples,
0:54:16 > 0:54:19which will give us the date when the ivory being tested
0:54:19 > 0:54:22was still growing on a living elephant.
0:54:22 > 0:54:27Just to be clear, I'm looking for anything that's post-1947.
0:54:27 > 0:54:28I'd like to start with the piece
0:54:28 > 0:54:32that's described as 17th to 18th-century here.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34What does your carbon testing tell us it is?
0:54:34 > 0:54:40Right. That date is coming through at 1972 to 1974.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43- You're kidding!- With a very small probability in the 1960s.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47So it's definitely after 1950.
0:54:47 > 0:54:48Wow.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51OK. On to the tiger.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55So, this is one which is probably pre-1950.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58It could be anything from about sort of 1700, later.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01- But quite likely Victorian period. - OK.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04What about this African lady's head?
0:55:04 > 0:55:09That's one is the most likely, 1978 to 1980.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11Really? Late '70s.
0:55:11 > 0:55:12Wow. OK.
0:55:12 > 0:55:17'The date proves that this ivory piece is illegal in the UK.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19'But it's not the date when the elephants died.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23'It's when the ivory actually formed in the elephant's head.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26'So these illegal pieces could have come from animals
0:55:26 > 0:55:28'that died much more recently.'
0:55:28 > 0:55:33Lastly, this sort of lantern, candle burner.
0:55:33 > 0:55:38So this is either sort of '62, '63, or the 1980s - 1980, '82.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41Another illegal piece of ivory.
0:55:41 > 0:55:46So, four out of nine pieces definitely illegal,
0:55:46 > 0:55:47shouldn't be on sale.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50And another two, even though the ivory's older,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53are illegal by virtue of being recently reworked.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58I don't know about you, Chris, but I find that pretty extraordinary.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01It shouldn't really be for sale at all.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08These results are really shocking.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10This is modern ivory.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13It could be from elephants that were killed in Africa
0:56:13 > 0:56:14in the last ten years.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16That's worrying enough.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18But, actually, I think the real problem
0:56:18 > 0:56:21is the sheer quantity of UK ivory
0:56:21 > 0:56:23that's now streaming into the Asian market.
0:56:23 > 0:56:28More than 2,500 pieces arrived in Hong Kong last year.
0:56:28 > 0:56:33This ivory's all going to restock and stimulate the same Asian market
0:56:33 > 0:56:37that we know is selling poached ivory from Africa.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40I think that makes us part of the problem.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43Now, we have a government who's pledged twice now
0:56:43 > 0:56:48to end the UK ivory trade. So why hasn't that happened?
0:56:48 > 0:56:50I think we deserve an answer to that question.
0:56:50 > 0:56:54And I'm going to make it my business to get one.
0:56:54 > 0:56:59'Next time, I venture into the murky world of illegal wildlife dealers.'
0:56:59 > 0:57:02He's just sent us a picture of 1 million worth of rhino horns.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05'Following the scent deep undercover in Vietnam.'
0:57:05 > 0:57:08I can see straight away that this is real.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10Real, yeah.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14'I experience the war on poaching first-hand.'
0:57:14 > 0:57:16I guess this is it. I'm on the front line now.
0:57:16 > 0:57:17'And back home...'
0:57:17 > 0:57:19- Good. Nice to see you again. - Good to see you.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22'..the case against the UK ivory trade hots up.'
0:57:22 > 0:57:26Here is our government finally saying something about ivory,
0:57:26 > 0:57:28and spectacularly missing the point.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31'So I take the fight all the way to the top.'
0:57:31 > 0:57:33Minister. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35- Oh, hello. Hi.- How are you?