The US Fish and Wildlife United States (FWS) crushed today in the central square of Times Square in New York, a ton of Ivory confiscated from Traffickers as part of a global effort to halt the rapid loss of African elephants.
Made in one of the nerve centers of New York , the event was intended to send the message that illegal ivory trade will not be tolerated in the United States, as well as raise awareness of the possibility that some species of elephants are at risk of extinction.
They placed on a motorized band, dozens of elephant tusks were displaced shortly before noon to a shredding machine that expelled fragments to a container.
Today’s event followed the crushing of six tons of ivory in December 2013 in the United States, which inspired other countries to take similar steps to stop the illegal ivory trade, with an estimated market value of 20 billion annually.
Will Gartshore, head of public policy World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), said crushing held on Friday was more than a symbolic act, and represents a sign of the seriousness with which the US government has taken the issue .
In an interview with Notimex, Gartshore said the US government issued a new law in the summer in order to close the door completely illegal ivory trade in this country, and to prevent local demand play a role in hunting poaching of elephants.
Poaching of elephants in central Africa (as well as rhinos, whose horns are also appreciated in the illegal ivory market) has taken alarming proportions in recent years, according to experts.
Every year they are hunted for their tusks about 300 thousand elephants across the African continent. Only in Tanzania, the elephant population fell by 60 percent in the past five years, equivalent to the loss of 70 000 of these animals.
For some scientists, the accelerated decline of forest elephants (the smallest of these three species of elephants in Africa) means extinction, in terms of their social structure and their accumulated knowledge as a species, it is virtually irreversible.
“The huge numbers of lost elephants have a very significant impact on the species, beyond the simple low population. It has a profound effect on ecology and social structure of these animals,” said Gartshore.
According to Gartshore, poaching of elephants is also linked to the ongoing conflicts in several countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Sudan.
Several observers have also established that part of the proceeds of illegal ivory market directly finances militants and terrorist groups like the Janjaweed, Boko Haram or the Lord’s Resistance Army, a recruiter of child soldiers well known.
Despite the situation, Gartshore settled that there are grounds for optimism, not only by the US commitment.
China, which is by far the largest market for these products, announced last May its intention to completely eliminate the illegal trade in ivory in the country.
“If China achieves its plan, that would be a huge step in the right direction. And, yes, I think there are generally many reasons for hope,” said Gartshore.
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