The Sakha Republic, Yakutia, will stage an international auction of mammoth tusks and other remains on Friday, 11/30/2007 the fourth event of this kind there. According to Yakutia’s department of business affairs, officials are currently performing all necessary preparations, including evaluating the items for sale, particularly their quality and price.

33 corporations of Yakutia are engaged in harvesting mammoth tusks and remains. They all are required to exhibit their findings for sale according to their licenses. The companies gather from 30 to 50 tons of mammoth remains annually. The tusks are usually found in the northern regions of the Yakutia.

During last year’s auction, 14 items (out of 34 offered) of 624 kilograms (1,375 pounds) total weight, have been sold, bringing in 12.2 million rubles ($502,000). Russia, Germany, Italy, Canada, the U.S., Thailand, France, Japan and many other countries were participating in the auction.

Starting from 2008 the Department Of Business Affairs of Sakha Republic plans to introduce an on-line auction and payment system. Environmentalists support the auctions because the sale of mammoth tusks brings down the price of elephant bones on the black markets, thereby reducing the appeal of poaching.