NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Kenya is set to burn 105 tons of elephant ivory and more than 1 ton of rhino horn, believed to be the largest stockpile ever destroyed, in a dramatic statement against the trade in ivory and products from endangered species.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to set fire to 12 pyres of ivory tusks Saturday afternoon to be witnessed by dignitaries including visiting presidents.
Kenyatta said Kenya will push for the total ban on trade in ivory at the 17th meeting of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species in South Africa, later this year.
Kenyan wildlife authorities say illegal ivory smuggling in Africa and the killings of elephant and rhino increased after the 2007 temporary lifting of a ban on trade in ivory.
