Anne Main MP has welcomed the announcement from the environment secretary, Michael Gove, that the UK will impose a ban on ivory sales to help bring an end to the poaching of elephants.

The announcement followed a letter signed by Mrs Main which called on the government to, 'take swift action and introduce an ivory trade ban as soon as possible to protect the world's elephants.'

'I welcome the announcement by the government to protect elephants.  We are in real danger of numbers dwindling even further, which would put the species at risk of extinction,' said the St Albans MP.  'These measure should help stifle demand, and send out a clear message that elephant poaching is completely unacceptable.'

Previously Anne was a signatory to letters to the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, urging China to ban end the ivory trade, and the British premier.

The government has announced proposals that will protect elephants and help combat poaching by removing opportunities for criminals to trade illegally-poached ivory.

The number of elephants has declined by almost a third in the last decade and around 20,000 a year are still being slaughtered due to the global demand for ivory. If current rates of poaching continue, elephants could become extinct within decades in some African countries, the government has said.

Illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth up to £17 billion a year, which the St Albans MP says demonstrates, 'the scale of the problems that we face.'