China destroys 6.1 tons of ivory in public display
Print Edition
China destroyed 6.1 tons of confiscated ivory yesterday to demonstrate its stance against illegal wildlife trafficking.
Forestry and customs officials organized the country’s first large-scale destruction of ivory in Dongguan City in southern Guangdong Province.
Authorities displayed a pile of ornaments, carvings and tusks to reporters, diplomats and conservationists before feeding them into two crushing machines. Tusks that were too long were cut up into smaller chunks by workers with circular saws before they could be pulverized.
“The event, the first public ivory destruction in China, was to demonstrate the country’s determination to discourage illegal ivory trade, protect wildlife and raise public awareness,” said Zhang Jianlong, deputy head of the State Forestry Administration.
It is a significant step in wildlife protection and will contribute to the global fight against elephant ivory smuggling, Zhang said.
Officials said the 6.1 metric tons of ivory was just a portion of the illegal ivory held by China. It came from shipments from Africa intercepted by customs officers as well as from carving factories and shops in China.
The administration said some of the pulverized ivory would be taken to museums for display to raise public awareness on wildlife protection. The rest will be stored and kept by the government.
The destruction was attended by representatives from a number of foreign countries and international organizations.
John Scanlon, secretary-general of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), said the destruction showed China’s determination to end the illegal trade.
“If you do trade illegally in elephant ivory, you now run a much higher risk of being arrested, prosecuted and severely punished, and the return on your investment in illegally traded ivory may end up being jail time, heavy fines and seized assets,” he said.
Zhang Li, a scientist from the Freeland Foundation, said, “The large seizures of illegal ivory reflect the efforts of Chinese enforcement agencies, such as customs and the forestry police.”
But Zhang said more effort to strengthen wildlife protection policy and regulations should be encouraged to sustain achievements and the consistent reduction of consumer demand.
22,000 elephants killed
Ivory smuggling activities remain rampant globally. Latest figures released by CITES showed that an estimated 22,000 elephants were killed in 2012.
Demand is fueled by rapid growth in the world’s second biggest economy, which has created a vast middle class with the spending power to buy ivory carvings prized as status symbols. Ivory can fetch up to US$2,000 a kilogram on the black market, earning it the nickname “white gold.”
Ivory allowed for trade in China comes from only two sources — those imported before the country joined CITES in 1981 and 62 tons which China bought from four African countries in 2008, as permitted by CITES.
China has been making prestigious products from elephant ivory for almost 5,000 years but imposes stringent regulatory measures. Raw elephant ivory and its products must be processed at designated places, sold at fixed shops and tracked on an individual item basis. Each legal ivory product can be tracked through a unique photo ID and is recorded in a database.
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