HK to destroy 30 tonnes of ivory

Seized ivory tusks displayed by Hong Kong Customs.

AFP/Hong Kong 

Hong Kong said yesterday it would incinerate almost 30 tonnes of ivory seized from smugglers, in the world’s largest such operation, following intense pressure from conservation groups.

A government committee on endangered species agreed unanimously on the move to discourage the illegal trade, its chairman Paul Shin told reporters.  Authorities will incinerate about 28 tonnes of the government’s total 29.6 tonne stockpile. 

“The incineration of 28 tonnes of ivory is the largest in the world,” a government spokesman told a press conference, adding that the ivory will be cut into smaller pieces and then burned at 800 to 1,000 degrees Celsius. 

Authorities expect the disposal to start in the first half of this year and to take one to two years, with future ivory seizures to be destroyed “on a regular basis”. 

“We hope to send a strong message that illegal elephant poaching to harvest their tusks, to illegally buy and sell and to transport ivory through Hong Kong... is not allowed,” said Shin, a marine biologist. 

Hong Kong has been a transit point for the illegal ivory trade. The southern Chinese city has seen tusk seizures rise steadily since 2009, reaching a record of 8,041kg seized in 2013. 

Authorities have seized a total of 33.37 tonnes of tusks since 2003.