A crackdown on elephant poaching for ivory

World Today

Smoke poured from Nairobi National Park in Kenya last week. The reason: 15 tons of elephant tusks were burned and reduced to ashes. It came just days after China announced it is suspending the imports of carved elephant ivory for the next year. The slaughter of elephants for their ivory has been going on for years, but as Hendrik Sybrandy reports, a crackdown on the illegal ivory trade is now picking up steam.

Hendrik Sybrandy filed this report from the US state of Colorado.

Highlights:

  • Elephant poaching and illegal ivory trafficking are what China is now trying to combat with a one year ivory import ban.
  • Ivory is a symbol of wealth for the world’s growing middle class.