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China has announced it will legalise domestic trade in antique tiger bone and rhino horn - reversing a 25-year-old ban.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) announced their "profound concern" over the changes in the law, which would allow bone and horn products to be traded and used from captive bred animals.

Margaret Kinnaird, WWF Wildlife Practice Leader said: “It is deeply concerning that China has reversed its 25 year old tiger bone and rhino horn ban, allowing a trade that will have devastating consequences globally.

“Trade in tiger bone and rhino horn was banned in 1993. The resumption of a legal market for these products is an enormous setback to efforts to protect tigers and rhinos in the wild.

(Image: Barcroft)

"China's experience with the domestic ivory trade has clearly shown the difficulties of trying to control parallel legal and illegal markets for ivory.

"Not only could this lead to the risk of legal trade providing cover to illegal trade, this policy will also stimulate demand that had otherwise declined since the ban was put in place."

Both tiger bone and rhino horn were removed from the traditional Chinese medicine pharmacopeia in 1993.

The World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies released a statement in 2010 urging members not to use tiger bone or any other parts from endangered species.

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(Image: PA)

While changes in the law mean its use remains restricted to antiques and in hospitals, the WWF say confusion by consumers and law enforcers as to which products are and are not legal will increase - leading to an expanded market for bone products.

Kinnaird added: "With wild tiger and rhino populations at such low levels and facing numerous threats, legalized trade in their parts is simply too great a gamble for China to take.

"This decision seems to contradict the leadership China has shown recently in tackling the illegal wildlife trade, including the closure of their domestic ivory market, a game changer for elephants warmly welcomed by the global community."

In 2017, a ban on ivory sales in China was hailed as a huge victory Prince William who ran a high-profile campaign to stop poachers in Africa slaughtering 30,000 animals a year to feed the sickening trade.

(Image: Getty) (Image: Getty)

It meant 172 ivory-carving factories and shops will close in a move charities hail as “the greatest single step to reducing poaching”.

The international trade has been banned since 1990.

But China and other countries had allowed domestic trade, which critics said created a market.

The prince has appeared on Chinese TV urging people not to buy ivory as well as meeting leaders and setting up an anti-poaching taskforce.