Jewelry and statues made out of the ivory from at least 100 slaughtered elephants were crushed in a demonstration in Central Park.
Jewelry and statues made out of the ivory from at least 100 slaughtered elephants were crushed Thursday during a ceremonial demonstration in Central Park.
The $8 million worth of ivory was destroyed by a rock-crusher machine to highlight the state’s commitment to destroying the illegal trade.
«By crushing a ton of ivory in the middle of the world’s most famous public park, New Yorkers are sending a message to poachers, traffickers and dealers who try to set up shop right here on our streets, » said John Calvelli, the Society’s executive vice president and director of the 96 Elephants Campaign. «We won’t stand for the slaughter of elephants. Nobody needs an ivory brooch that badly.»
The trade of ivory through international borders has been outlawed since 1990. But the U. S. and many other countries permit people to buy and sell ivory nationally, with certain restrictions.
Watch ill-gotten ivory be destroyed in Central Park on Thursday
That has frustrated wildlife preservation groups.
Last year, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service established a nearly complete domestic ban. In 2014,New York led the way banning the sale, purchase, trade or distribution of anything made from elephant or mammoth ivory or rhinoceros horn, aside from narrow situations with state approval.
New York is the nation’s largest port of entry for illegal wildlife goods, officials said.
The global ivory market leads to the death of an estimated 30,000 elephants annually, according to animal rights groups. That adds up to one elephant every 15 minutes.
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Many other countries have conducted similar ivory crush ceremonies.
The Central Park ceremony was the second such ritual conducted in New York. The other was held two years ago in Times Square.
Some have argued that it would make more sense to sell the ivory and use the profits to fund preservation efforts. Critics also contend destroying the tusks drives up the black market by limiting ivory availability.
Wendy Hapgood, founder of Wild Tomorrow Fund, defended the crushing practice.
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«It’s a way to tell the world that ivory shouldn’t be coveted, it should be destroyed. It belongs only on an elephant, » she said.
Iris Ho, the campaign’s manager at Humane Society International, said the ceremony was bittersweet.
«It’s really encouraging to see this global commitment to save African elephants from extinction from this cruel trade, » she said. «To me, it’s always like attending a memorial service and paying tribute to the elephants that were killed by poachers just to feed their greed for ivory.»
With News Wire Services
