Singapore Crushes Elephant Tusks to Prevent Illegal Ivory Trade

Singapore's National Parks Board crushed about nine tons of elephant ivory on Tuesday as an action against poaching and wildlife trade.

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"The destruction of the ivory will prevent it from re-entering the market and will disrupt the global supply chain of illegally traded ivory," the National Parks Board said.

Singapore authorities maintain a strict policy about wildlife trade. In 2019, they confiscated about 8.8 ivory tone from exotic animal products vendors. The tusks presumably proceeded from about 300 African elephants.

The ivory batch will be incinerated after its pulverization with an industrial rock crusher, a process that could take several days. The action welcomed World Elephants Day.

According to environmental organizations, poachers kill 100 African elephants daily to cover ivory demands in jewelry fabrication. They estimate only about 400,000 specimens remain. 

Singapore authorities announced a prohibition on domestic ivory trade to be effective from September 2021 to prevent regional commerce. The actions follow Malaysia's initiative after destroying 9.55 tons of elephant tusks in 2016.

"Elephant poaching is at crisis levels in Asia and Africa due to the illegal trade," the CEO World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore R. Raghunathan said.