China destroys 6.1 tonnes of confiscated ivory in gesture reflecting major policy shift

China destroyed over six tonnes of confiscated ivory for the first time in Guangdong’s Dongguan, marking a significant effort to combat illegal wild elephant tusk trading by the world’s largest ivory consumer.

The destruction of confiscated ivory by Chinese authorities is the first landmark gesture reflecting a policy shift by Beijing in the handling of confiscated ivory which used to be kept in storage without further action.

The destruction ceremony kicked off in the afternoon in Dongguan’s Machong township where 6.1 tonnes of ivory sculptures and raw tusks over three feet long each were crushed into pieces by two giant machines, witnessed by diplomats, international guests, conservationists and media. Ivory is worth between US$1,000 and US$2,000 per kilogram in the black market, according to John Scanlon, secretary general of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The destruction comes a month after China pledged during the African Elephant Summit in Botswana of Africa on December 2 last year to take action in combating ivory trading, according to Zhang Li, associate professor at Beijing Normal University and elephant expert.

"It’s a really big and quick decision just in one month," Zhang said.

"After Gabon, Kenya, the Philippines and the United States, China is the next government to take real action to destroy illegal ivory stockpiling. This shows strong willing from China to protect the wild elephant population as well as wildlife trade," he added.