Jan 9, 2024 at 4:38 PM
2.5 tonnes of seized elephant tusks were destroyed in Nigeria on Tuesday. The tusks represent a record value of 10.2 million euros. The authorities hope this will discourage poaching and the illegal trade in ivory.
Nigeria’s elephant population has suffered greatly from the tusk trade. Thirty years ago there were an estimated fifteen hundred elephants left in the wild, but now there are fewer than four hundred. The elephant’s habitat is also shrinking in Nigeria, say environmentalists.
Since 1989, there has been a worldwide ban on the trade in ivory. Yet thousands of elephants are still shot every year. Also in Nigeria, although the country has signed an international treaty to combat the trade in products of endangered animal and plant species.
In addition, local authorities see that Nigeria is increasingly being used as a distribution country by international gangs, who smuggle the tusks to Asia. Nigeria is working with the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany, among others, to combat smuggling practices.
In 2022, a total of 1,613 tons of tusks were seized in Nigeria. Figures for 2023 are not yet known.
-
Video | Rare twin elephants run after mother in Kenya
-
Elephants have already lost almost two-thirds of their habitat in Asia
Beeld: Getty Images
Read more about:
NigeriaifortradeForeign
2024-01-09 15:38:31
#Nigeria #destroys #expensive #batch #seized #tusks #date
