Goodbye, ivory tusks

The Philippines was to destroy 5 tons of elephant tusks on June 21, in a high-profile event aimed at shedding its image as one of the world’s worst hot spots for illegal African ivory trading. The country becomes the first in Asia to destroy its multi-million-dollar stockpile. The Philippines was named by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species as one of 8 nations that was failing to do enough to tackle the illegal trade in elephant ivory. The tusks come from a total of 13.1 tons seized at Manila’s port and international airport after being smuggled in from Africa in 2005 and 2009. The rest of the ivory, worth many millions of dollars on the black market, was stolen over the years.

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