Officials destroy huge haul of ivory
Print Edition
THE Chinese government yesterday destroyed 662 kilograms of confiscated ivory, the second such demonstration of its stance against wildlife crime in 16 months.
The illegal ivory, which was seized over the past year, was dumped into crushers in Beijing and ground down by officials from the State Forestry Administration and the General Administration of Customs.
Last January, 6.1 tons of confiscated ivory were destroyed in the southern city of Dongguan, Guangdong Province.
The second public ivory destruction in China demonstrates the country’s determination to end the illegal trade, protect wildlife and raise public awareness, said Zhao Shucong, head of the forestry agency.
“We will strictly control ivory processing and trade until the commercial processing and sale of ivory and its products are halted,” he said.
The government will prevent the transport of illegal wildlife products by any means and pay special attention to the illegal ivory trade on the Internet, he said.
Yu Guangzhou, chief of the customs administration, said that while the smuggling of endangered species, including ivory, into China has been declining, border officials will continue to fight the illegal trade of wildlife products.
In February, the country announced a one-year ban on the import of ivory carvings to protect wild elephants.
The forestry agency said the ban will allow authorities to evaluate its effect before taking further steps.
Ivory smuggling remains rampant globally.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) program monitoring the illegal killing of elephants has said that poaching rates still exceed natural elephant population growth rates.
Ivory is legal in China if it comes from two sources: stock imported before the country joined CITES in 1981 and the 62 tons of raw ivory which China bought from four African countries in 2008, as permitted by CITES.
Ivory must be processed at designated places, sold in approved shops and tracked on an individual item basis. Each legal product has a unique identity.
Anyone found guilty of the illegal trade in ivory faces a prison term of between six months and life.
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