Hong Kong the gateway for illegal ivory entering China
Video report by ITV News China correspondent Lucy Watson
Hong Kong is acting as the gateway for illegal ivory entering China - where the item is high in demand.
The ultimate prize in the illegal trade is the rare, much sought-after and expensive blood ivory which is cut from an elephant while it is still alive.
ITV News China correspondent Lucy Watson secretly filmed in a Hong Kong shop which was selling blood ivory.
The salesman told her that exporting ivory to China was illegal but knowing a customs officer or someone higher up in the chain could help in getting the item into the country.
The store later said it had done nothing wrong.
Sharon Kwok, from the AquaMeridian Conservation and Education Foundation, told ITV News that it was impossible to check everything that leaves Hong Kong so the answer to halting the trade is to target the consumer.
Government registered dealers can still sell ivory obtained before the 1989 world ban but there is no sure way of knowing whether an item is legal or poached.
Authorities in Hong Kong have decided to destroy 30 tonnes of seized elephant ivory following similar moves in the US and China.
When asked whether the authorities destroying their stockpiles would make a difference to demand, antique restorer Dacheng Chan told ITV News: