Ivory products are displayed at an antique store in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou October 16, 2009. A passion for ivory ornaments such as these is what helped decimate African and Asian elephant populations until a 1989 ban on ivory trade. Today, China's economic rise, and along with it a seemingly insatiable appetite for status symbols by its nouveau riche, has spurred demand for African ivory. Picture taken October 16, 2009. Reuters Pictures logo Reuters Pictures 27 months ago

Ivory products are displayed at an antique store in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou October 16, 2009. A passion for ivory ornaments such as these is what helped decimate African and Asian elephant populations until a 1989 ban on ivory trade. Today, China's economic rise, and along with it a seemingly insatiable appetite for status symbols by its nouveau riche, has spurred demand for African ivory. Picture taken October 16, 2009.

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