US crushes tonne of illegal ivory carved into decorative objects in New York's Times Square

A tonne of illegal ivory carved into decorative objects was destroyed in New York's Times Square as US officials denounced poaching that kills thousands of elephants a year.

Under the gaudy neon lights of the most famous square in the world, the objects - most of them seized from the store of a jailed Philadelphia art dealer - were placed one by one on a conveyor belt before being dropped into the crusher to applause.

"Today's ivory crush serves as a stark reminder to the rest of the world that the United States will not tolerate wildlife crimes, especially against iconic and endangered animals," US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said.

US officials said that between 2011 and 2014 the poaching of African elephants reached the highest level ever recorded.

In just three years some 100,000 elephants were killed for their ivory, Jewell said.

She said there was a growing demand for ivory, with international organised crime networks seeing it as a low risk, high-profit market.