The Kenyan President Did Something Remarkable To Send Out A Strong Message Against Ivory Poaching

[JANASENA]

 

 

 

President of Kenya

“For us ivory is worthless, unless it is on our elephants”

These were the exact words of the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, after setting fire to over 100 tons of ivory tusks confiscated from the poachers. The country that could have easily gained much revenue from those confiscated ivory, made a clear statement by burning those down that they are not willing to support any kind of crime against animals.By burning the ivories down to ashes, this was probably the strongest ever message sent out to the purchasers and poachers of ivory.The number consisted of the entire stock of ivory confiscated in Kenya that amounted to the tusks of about 6,700 elephants.

In spite of the international ban on ivory trade in 1989, illegal trade is very much active and claimed the lives of 30,000 African elephants each year.

Between 30,000 and 50,000 elephants were killed annually in the years following the 2008 sale of African ivory to China. Tanzania alone lost an average of more than 1,000 elephants a month between 2009 and the end of 2014. China and the US have the largest ivory markets. Over the past few decades, the overall elephant population has declined 76 per cent, all because of the demand for their tusks, which can be sold for $1,500 a pound on the global black market.Meanwhile, the international ivory trade is the primary funding source for many terrorist groups, according to regulators and wildlife conservationists.