NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya’s president set fire Saturday to 105 tons of elephant ivory and more than 1 ton of rhino horn, believed to be the largest stockpile ever destroyed, in a dramatic statement by this East African country against the trade in ivory and products from endangered species.
Uhuru Kenyatta put a flame to the biggest of 11 pyres of ivory tusks and one of rhino horn in a chilly afternoon inside Nairobi National Park.
“A time has come when we must take a stand and the stand is clear ... Kenya is making a statement that for us, ivory is worthless unless it is on our elephants,” Kenyatta said.
The stacks of tusks represent more than 8,000 elephants and some 343 rhinos slaughtered for their ivory and horns, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service.
Kenya will push for the total ban on trade in ivory at the 17th meeting of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species to be held in South Africa later this year, said Kenyatta.
Kenya decided to destroy the ivory instead of selling it for an estimated $150 million. Kenyatta said that Kenya wants to make the point that ivory should not have any commercial value.
Others said the burning will not end the killing of elephants because international gangs take advantage of Kenya’s porous borders and corruption to continue the illegal trade.
