tMalaysia has destroyed nearly 10 tonnes of ivory. (Source: straitstimes.com)Hanoi (VNA) – Malaysia has destroyed 9.5 tonnes of elephant tusks that the country has confiscated in the past few years.
The tusks, worth about 20 million USD, were put into a grinding machine and were then burned at a huge incinerator at Dickson port in southern Malaysia. The act was conducted in the presence of many diplomats and representatives of international organisations.
Earlier, the Malaysian government reported to the Parliament on the confiscation of 4,624 tusks from 2011 to 2014.
Malaysia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar declared that this is the first time Malaysia has destroyed elephant tusks and we wanted to send a strong message to the world that Malaysia is uncompromising in the fight for protecting wild animals under threat.
These tusks come from 11 African countries, he said.
As a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Malaysia has seized a significant amount of illegal goods, mainly elephant tusks that were smuggled into the country by sea.
In the first three months of 2016, Malaysian customs confiscated 159 kilogrammes of ivory from passengers on commercial flights.-VNA
