Steven Lee Myers, In China, an Ivory Is 'Ethical,' But Fears Persist. New York Times, Aug 7, 2017 (front page).
Quote:
"many Chinese artisans have turned not to ivory from elephants but from the tusks of extinct mammoths harvested from an unlikely place: the melting permafrost of Russia's Arctic. * * * mammoth ivory has been promoted [presumably in China] as an ethical alternative, since it does not come from the poaching of live animals
"The legal importation of mammoth ivory, which comes from creatures that vanished more than 3,600 years ago, has skyrocketed in China * * * In the first six months of this year, more than 27 tons of the ivory entered Heilongjiang, the province that borders Russia’s Far East, the government there announced recently. * * * More mammoth ivory funnels in through Hong Kong, where imports are now averaging 34 tons a year
"No one can be sure how much mammoth ivory remains to be unearthed, but as a fossil, it is limited in supply and will one day dry up.