The World Wildlife Fund says every year, 20,000 elephants are killed for their tusks, which fetch high prices overseas.
Officials in Nigeria gathered to watch more than $11 million in contraband be turned into dust, but it wasn’t drugs or weapons going into an incinerator. It was two-and-a-half tons of elephant tusks that were seized by law enforcement in an ongoing effort to stop wildlife trafficking.
The World Wildlife Fund says every year, 20,000 elephants are killed for their tusks, which fetch high prices overseas.
It says this illegal trade threatens the very existence of African elephants and has consequences for their environment.
While some countries have agreed to ban the trading and sale of elephant ivory, other countries still allow it.
Officials say this crushed ivory won’t go to waste.
It will be used to make a monument that will go in a public park.
It will be a symbol of Nigeria’s commitment to protecting and preserving wildlife.
