Two Tons of Ivory Destroyed, as New York Protests Illegal Trade

Nearly two tons of ivory — from tiny, ornamental items to elaborate, engraved tusks — were loaded onto a conveyor belt and pulverized in Central Park Thursday as part of a public protest staged by New York state officials against poaching.

"Clearly craftsmanship went into these pieces," said Basil Seggos, head of the state's Department of Environmental Conservation. "But when you're carving on the backs of so many impacted people and so many communities, so many dead elephants, that's not art, that's just disgusting."

The ceremony came three years after New York effectively banned the sale of elephant and mammoth ivory. The street value of the items destroyed, all of them seized in the state since the ban went into effect, was estimated at $8.5 million. Yet all of that ivory only represented the tusks of about 100 elephants, the number conservationists say are killed every single day.

Some say events like the "Ivory Crush" are not having their intended effect. Daniel Stiles, an independent wildlife conservationist working in Kenya, told WNYC he's counted more than 30 similar events since 1989.

"Poaching rates are still extremely high, so it's obvious that the burning and destruction events don't bring down poaching," he said. "I wish it did, but it doesn't."

Stiles said events like the one in Central Park do help to raise awareness about poaching, but that western countries need to better understand the economics and culture at play in African countries where elephants are being poached.