Washington D.C. — Today, World Wildlife Day, the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, torched 15 metric tons of ivory, sending a clear signal to the world that Kenya continues to reject the international trade in ivory and is a global leader in fighting the disastrous ivory trade.[teaserbreak]
According to Adam M. Roberts, CEO of Born Free USA and the Born Free Foundation, organizations on the front lines of trying to protect elephants from the scourge of poaching for their ivory: “Once more, our steadfast allies in Kenya have set a bold example for the rest of the world to follow by again burning their stockpiled ivory rather than pushing for its sale, a short-sighted decision that would lead to even more elephant slaughter. The value of removing ivory from the marketplace permanently and publicly is to be applauded universally.”
Kenya was the first country to destroy stockpiled ivory when, in 1989, former President Daniel arap Moi torched a 12 ton pyre of ivory tusks. Since then, a number of countries have followed suit by destroying stocks, including the U.S., France, Belgium, Zambia, Gabon, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and China, who destroyed six tons in Guangzhou in January 2014.
Born Free’s Kenya Country Manager, Tim Oloo, who attended the ceremony today in Nairobi National Park along with politicians, diplomats, conservation leaders, and members of the media, said, “I am proud that my country continues to demonstrate such incredible conservation leadership and has raised its flag against poaching and the international ivory trade. Today’s action celebrates the dedicated efforts of the Kenya Wildlife Service and other agencies and it reinforces our nation’s determination to end the slaughter of elephants by ending all speculation about a future legal ivory trade. We want none of it.”
In three weeks, international leaders will gather in Kasane, Botswana, to review the progress they have made in tackling the illegal trade in wildlife, including elephant ivory. This meeting is the follow-up to the groundbreaking Wildlife Summit hosted by the UK government and Prince Charles and Prince William in February 2014, where a series of actions were agreed on to halt the decline in some of the world’s most iconic species—elephants, rhinos, and tigers—as a direct result of wildlife trafficking and human greed.
Will Travers OBE, Born Free Foundation President, who will attend the Kasane meeting, commented: “Removing stockpiles, either by destruction or any means that prevents them from ever being traded, is a vital, positive step and Kenya’s courage is to be applauded. The rest of the world needs to pay attention and take action through providing support for increased anti-poaching efforts; coordinating measures to disrupt and destroy the organized criminal gangs behind the illegal trade; and, vitally, agreeing to end all domestic sales of ivory—new, old, carved, or raw—so that illegal, smuggled ivory can no longer be passed off as legitimate.”
Roberts concluded, “Today’s actions in Kenya support elephant conservation and national security. We know full well the destablizing effects of elephant poaching and the ivory trade; elephants are slaughtered, but so, too, are the heroic game rangers dedicated to protecting them. As Born Free USA’s groundbreaking 2014 reports Ivory’s Curse and Out of Africa showed, terrorizing gangs and criminal syndicates rule the wildlife trade, and every step toward stopping them is a step toward safety for animals and people alike.”
Born Free has been at the forefront of the fight against the illegal wildlife trade since 1989. For more information, go to www.bornfreeusa.org.
Born Free USA is a global leader in animal welfare and wildlife conservation. Through litigation, legislation, and public education, Born Free USA leads vital campaigns against animals in entertainment, exotic “pets,” trapping and fur, and the destructive international wildlife trade. Born Free USA brings to America the message of “compassionate conservation” — the vision of the U.K.-based Born Free Foundation, established in 1984 by Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, stars of the iconic film Born Free, along with their son Will Travers. Born Free’s mission is to end suffering of wild animals in captivity, conserve threatened and endangered species, and encourage compassionate conservation globally. More at www.bornfreeusa.org, www.twitter.com/bornfreeusa.
Media Contact: Rodi Rosensweig, 203/270-8929, therodicompany@gmail.com