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Emulate China's move to destroy illegal ivory

China, which has been described by conservationists and animal lovers as the world’s leading hub for illegal ivory trade, took everyone by surprise recently by destroying some six tonnes of confiscated ivory from its stockpile.        

The landmark destruction of the confiscated ivory and its products, such as carvings, ornaments, etc, which were said to be amassed over the years is indeed a good piece of news for the world and China deserves all-round applause.

The fact that China chose to destroy the ivory on the first week of the New Year is a symbolic gesture of the Chinese leadership that they are in sync with the views and feelings of conservationists and animals lovers on the subject.

The act of destroying the confiscated ivory in public for the first time by the Chinese authorities indicates that China is not prepared to tolerate the illegal trade in elephant ivory any more.

The destruction of the ivory in the Guangdong province sends a very powerful message to the Chinese people and the world that China is concerned with animal welfare and is prepared to work with the international community in protecting and conserving our endangered wildlife.

Ivory is said to be a prized status symbol in the well-do Chinese community and is used in traditional crafts and carvings.

China and Thailand has been singled out as the two countries where the demand for ivory has been fuelling poaching activities in Africa, according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

It was recently reported by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) that an estimated 35,000 or more elephants are slaughtered annually in a barbaric manner by poachers for just the ivory.

Ivory, which has been referred as ‘white gold’, is said to fetch between RM7,000 to RM8,000 per kilogramme in the black market.

Ivory trafficking apparently is taking a toll on the elephant populations around the world and its related activities are now been seen by many countries as a threat to regional security.

China’s decision to step forward perhaps for the first time in history to destroy part of its stockpile of confiscated elephant tusk and products is indeed a giant step towards the efforts in conserving and safeguarding these magnificent animals that roam our jungles.

Speculations of illegal ivory ‘leaking out’      

Back home it is heartening to note that the Malaysian authorities too, have been on high alert to these ivory smuggling activities. The seizure of several tons of ivory shipments worth millions of ringgit by our authorities over the years is still under lock and key.

I urge the authorities to emulate China’s move and destroy all the confiscated ivory in public.

Since no one has been arrested so far and we are not seeing any development on the matter, it is advisable for the authorities to destroy all the illegal ivory in our stockpile, as it will send a strong message to all parties concerned that, Malaysia too, does not tolerate ivory trafficking and is equally serious in wildlife conservation and protection.

The destruction of our stockpile of confiscated ivory will also put a stop to all the speculations and allegations that some of the confiscated ivory in our stockpile are “leaking out” secretly and are found in the black markets.

The destruction of confiscated ivory in countries along the illegal ivory trafficking trade chain will send a powerful message to consumers all over the world that buying is unethical and wrong.

When the Chinese, who are well-known in the world to treasure ivory and its products, can come forward to destroy their stockpile of confiscated ivory to show their concern and support for wildlife conservation and protection, I am sure we can do the same or better.

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