International News

SINGAPORE, (APP/AFP) – Singapore on Monday crushed and
burnt almost eight tonnes of ivory confiscated over two years to try to deter smugglers as activists called for tighter enforcement.
Over 2,700 elephant tusks weighing 7.9 tonnes were fed into an
industrial rock crusher before incineration.
It was the fist time seized ivory had been destroyed in Singapore,
the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority said in a statement. Previous hauls were returned to the originating country, donated to museums or kept for education.
The tusks, estimated to be worth Sg$13 million ($9.6 million), were
seized on four separate occasions between January 2014 and December 2015. In May 2015 some 2,000 tusks were found hidden in a shipment of tea leaves from Kenya.
“The public destruction of ivory sends a strong message that
Singapore condemns illegal wildlife trade. By crushing the ivory, we ensure it does not re-enter the ivory market,” said Desmond Lee, a senior minister of state in the interior and national development ministry.
Singapore can do more to enforce strict anti-trafficking laws, said
WWF-Singapore communications director Kim Stengert.