Ivory and other illegal wildlife products out of control in Cairo, Egypt
In 2024, I took a trip to Cairo, Egypt. I had seen a YouTube video that showed that illegal wildlife products were for sale in a market called Khan el Khalili Market, the largest market in Africa. I discovered the some of what the video had shown, as well as other disturbing things. The shop in the video had elephant skin, ivory, and even a tiger skull.
The shop was closed when I visited, but an array of wildlife products were obvious through the window. Throughout the market, ivory was very easy to find.
I asked a vendor if it was okay to take Ivory out of the country, and he said small pieces were no problem. Perhaps he meant that a buyer wouldn’t get caught; however, according to Traffic, it is illegal to take ivory out of the country without special permits. It is not even legal to display ivory.
This is just what I could see as a tourist walking around the market. The trade goes much deeper, as revealed by investigations by the likes of conservationist and photographer, Karl Ammann. There is ongoing trade of endangered live animals too.
You can view a similarly disturbing survey I did of illegal wildlife products in Southeast Asia last year here.
If you would like to learn more about this problem, check out the book Poached, by Rachel Love Nuwer.
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