14 DAY TRIAL // On November 14, 2013 the United States crushed nearly 6 tons of ivory that had been confiscated from traffickers and tourists over the years.
The destruction of the country's national ivory stockpile was intended to send one very simple message to illegal hunters and traders: the US does not and will never stand for wildlife crime.
This coming January 6, a ceremony very similar to that organized by the Obama administration is to take place in China.
In a press release issued yesterday, the Wildlife Conservation Society says that China plans to destroy a yet undisclosed amount of ivory during a public ceremony held in the city of Guangzhou in the country's Guangdong Province.
Together with the ivory, the country is expected to crush several other wildlife products, the organization goes on to detail.
Both the ivory and the wildlife products set to be destroyed in China on January 6 were intended for the black market, but have instead been confiscated by authorities.
“The Government of China is set to destroy ivory and other wildlife products confiscated from illegal trade at a public ceremony on Jan. 6 in the city of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province,” the organization writes.
“The destruction of ivory by China follows the U.S. government’s destruction of six tons of illegal ivory in Colorado in November,” it adds.
The Wildlife Conservation Society says that, according to recent reports, some 96 elephants are slaughtered and stripped of their horns by poachers in Africa on a daily basis. Needless to say, this has caused the overall headcount for the species to plummet.
Mongabay tells us that, for the time being, China is the world's largest consumer of elephant ivory. This is chiefly due to the country's rising middle class.
By the looks of it, most of the ivory that ends up in this country is used to manufacture religious trinkets. However, some of it is used as medicine.