14 DAY TRIAL // Vietnam is still pondering on whether or not it should destroy its illegal animal products stockpile, but Belgium has things all figured out. Thus, the country is set to get rid of the illegal ivory it presently accommodates for this coming April.
Media reports say that Deputy Prime Minister Laurette Onkelinx was the one who, earlier this month, broke the news that Belgium was to bid its ivory stockpile goodbye.
When making this announcement, the Deputy Prime Minister also revealed that the ivory was to be destroyed during a special ceremony, and that dignitaries from the Belgian government were to be present at the event.
Commenting on Belgium's decision to take a stand against wildlife crime and trafficking activities involving animal body parts, the European Regional Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Sonja Van Tichelen, stated as follows:
“The Belgian government should be saluted for taking a firm and public stand on ivory trafficking and working to save the world's threatened elephants.”
“Not only are we losing an elephant every 15 minutes but the ivory trade is undercutting law and order in elephant range states and enriching organized crime syndicates - the slaughter of elephants must be stopped,” Sonja Van Tichelen added, as cited by Live Science.
The same source tells us that Belgium has settled on April 9 as the day when its ivory stockpile will be publicly destroyed. For the time being, information concerning how exactly Belgium will get rid of the illegal animal products seized by customs over the years has not been shared with the public.
Thus, it is unclear whether the country will crush them, as the United States did back in November 2013, or incinerate them, as Kong Kong plans to do with about 28 tons of ivory over the next 1-2 years.
Whatever method to dispose of its illegal animal products stockpile Belgium will settle on, there is little doubt that the move will be welcomed by conservationists and green groups worldwide.
This is because, by getting rid of its ivory, Belgium will get behind efforts to discourage poaching activities and trafficking by showing the people involved in such operations that it has zero tolerance for wildlife crime.
According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, about 96 elephants are killed by poachers in Africa on a daily basis. If the species is to even stand a chance of surviving in the long run, it is of utmost importance that wildlife crime is put an end to without delay.