Kenya to burn record 105 tons of ivory in bold anti-poaching statement
A representative of the Environment Ministry announced this initiative ahead of a summit on elephant protection in Nairobi. As a stand against poaching and the ivory trade, Kenya will burn 105 tons of confiscated ivory and 1.3 tons of rhino horn on April 30. A decision on a global trade ban will be made at the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) this autumn in Johannesburg. April 27 is the deadline for governments to submit proposals.
Largest Ivory Burn in History
Heads of state and international celebrities—including actor Leonardo DiCaprio and singer Elton John—have been invited to the Elephant Summit of the Giants Club on April 29 and 30. In a ceremonial act, Kenya will set fire to the tusks of some 5,000 elephants—the largest single destruction of ivory ever recorded.
If these elephants were still alive, they would form a line stretching 25 kilometers. Kenya is using this major event to launch its international campaign for a total global ban on ivory trade. "Stop the trade, stop the poaching—that is the clear message Kenya's president is sending to the world," says Daniela Freyer of Pro Wildlife. "Only by curbing demand and stripping ivory of its monetary value can we save these magnificent animals."
Living Elephants Are Worth More Than Dead Ones
The international ivory trade is governed by CITES. Since the convention allowed the sale of African ivory to China and Japan in 2008, illegal ivory trade and poaching across Africa have surged dramatically. Tens of thousands of elephants fall victim to poachers each year. In Tanzania alone, more than 60,000 elephants were killed in just five years. "If we want elephants to survive in the wild, all markets for ivory must be closed," Freyer emphasizes. "Past attempts to establish a legal, controlled ivory trade have failed: Tens of thousands of elephants have paid with their lives for the easing of trade restrictions. Legal loopholes allowed poached ivory to be laundered into the legitimate market—because a tusk reveals nothing about how the elephant died."
Wildlife Conference to Decide on Ivory Trade
CITES currently enforces not an outright ban on ivory trade but a temporary moratorium set to expire in 2017. Kenya has pledged to work with other African governments to push for a permanent global ban. Additional loopholes are also expected to be closed. The 182 CITES member states will determine the future of elephants at a conference from September 24 to October 5. "Kenya's initiative offers a chance to reject the ivory trade once and for all—and to save Africa's elephants from extinction," Freyer says.
Ivory Trade Ban and Highest Protection for Elephants
From 1989 to 1997, a global ban on ivory trade was in force—with striking results: markets collapsed and elephant populations rebounded significantly. But in 1997 and 1999, parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) voted to weaken protections for elephants in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Since then, these populations have been listed under CITES Appendix II, while all other elephants remain under the stricter trade ban of Appendix I. In 1999, CITES then authorized the sale of stockpiled ivory—first only to Japan, and in 2008, to Japan and China as well. Since China's insatiable market was unleashed, illegal ivory trade has surged dramatically. Seizure data recorded for CITES confirm this trend, while poaching has escalated and elephant numbers have plummeted. Yet despite this poaching crisis, CITES debates persist over potential future legalization of the ivory trade, including a so-called "Decision-Making Mechanism for Future Ivory Trade." To effectively protect all elephants and permanently ban ivory trade, the CITES conference would need to reclassify all elephant populations under Appendix I—a move requiring a two-thirds majority of attending member states.
Shutting Down Domestic Ivory Markets
Even with the current international moratorium on ivory trade, many countries still permit legal sales within their borders. This loophole allows poached ivory to be smuggled in on a massive scale and laundered as "legal." China remains the largest market for both legal and illegal ivory, followed by the U.S. and Thailand, while the EU also continues to allow ivory sales. The CITES conference could urge all nations to close their domestic ivory markets—a long-standing demand from conservation groups like Pro Wildlife aimed at dismantling the thriving black market. China, the U.S., and the EU have announced plans to do so, but implementation remains lacking.
Destroying Ivory Stockpiles
Many countries hold vast stockpiles of ivory—seized from smugglers or collected from elephants that died naturally. Soaring black-market prices and relentless demand in Asia have tempted some nations to push for international sales of these reserves. Twice now, CITES has yielded to pressure from a handful of trade-oriented countries, fueling a vicious cycle: the vast gray market for ivory persists, poaching has reached record highs, and living elephants pay the price. More nations now recognize the dangers of stockpiling ivory—how it drives speculation, inflates black-market prices, fuels corruption, enables leakage from stockpiles into illegal trade, sustains consumer demand, and dominates CITES negotiations on elephant protection. In short: ivory stockpiles are a crushing burden, accelerating the downward spiral for elephants. To break this cycle, an growing number of countries are publicly destroying their ivory stocks as a bold statement against the trade. Since 2011, 24 such events have taken place in 19 countries, most recently in Italy and Malaysia.
