CRUSHING TUSK: A handout photo made available by the Hong Kong-based AquaMeridian
Conservation and Education Foundation shows workers crushing 6.1 tonnes of confiscated ivory
yesterday under the supervision of China’s State Forestry Administration, at Huangpu Port, Dongguan.
China crushed a pile of ivory reportedly weighing over six tonnes yesterday in a landmark event aimed at shedding its image as a global hub for the illegal trade in African elephant tusks.
Clouds of dust emerged as masked workers fed tusks into crushing machines in what was described as the first ever public destruction of ivory in China.
The event in the southern city of Dongguan was “the country’s latest effort to discourage illegal ivory trade, protect wildlife and raise public awareness”, the official news agency Xinhua said.
Surging demand for ivory in Asia is behind an ever-mounting death toll of African elephants, conservationists say, as authorities have failed to rein in international smuggling networks.
Experts believe most illegal ivory is headed to China – where products made from the material have long been seen as status symbols – with some estimating the country accounts for as much as 70% of global demand.
Chinese forestry and customs officials oversaw the destruction, which was shown live by state broadcaster CCTV. It reported that the ivory weighed 6.1 tonnes and had been seized over a period of years.
“With measures like this we can still save elephants from being driven towards extinction,” said Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of London-based conservation group Save The Elephants.
Some of the crushed ivory powder would be disposed of and some displayed in a museum exhibit, while the rest would be “preserved”, state-run China National Radio reported.
The powder can be used as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine.