Singapore to destroy 8.8 tonnes of seized ivory worth $18 million on World Elephant Day

On the eve of World Elephant Day, Singapore is destroying over 8.8 tonnes of seized ivory, including the contraband tusks obtained from more than 300 African elephants, a news agency reported. A spokeswoman said that the authorities would take at least three to five days to destroy the massive illegal ivory haul it seized between 2014 and 2019 which is worth $18 million. Additionally, Singapore launched a Center for Wildlife Forensics to identify the specimens involved in the illegal wildlife trade, the report confirmed.

Singapore's National Parks Board said in a statement that the ivory crushing event, the largest worldwide in recent years, demonstrates Singapore's commitment to combat the illegal trade in wildlife. It aims to prevent the items from entering the trade market again. The destruction of the contraband tusks and ivory would disrupt the global supply chain of illegal trading, the government's statement read. According to the spokeswoman, the authorities plan to use DNA analysis and other methods to study the areas these ivories and elephant tusks were poached from, in order to take appropriate actions, a report confirmed. Further, she added, the DNA study would serve as a useful tool in the battle against illegal wildlife trade. 

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Message to poachers, traffickers, and dealers

Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, who launched the ivory crushing event was quoted as saying that destroying the ivory the country had seized was the only assured way of putting an end to the poaching of elephants and illegal trade of their body parts. It sends a clear signal to poachers, traffickers, and dealers that Singapore resolves to stamp out the illegal trade in wildlife passing through the city, he added. According to the reports, Singapore, a signatory of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is one of the major transit points for smuggling of the ivory despite the ban on its trade. The load of the ivory was seized by Singaporean authorities in July last year from the Democratic Republic of Congo shipments destined for Vietnam. The shipment also contained 11.9 metric tons (262,350 pounds) of pangolin scales.

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