105 tonnes ivory set to be burnt
At least 80 tonnes of ivory will be moved from the Kenya Wildlife Service headquarters to the Nairobi National Park in the course of the week ahead of the biggest burning of tusks in decades.
The ivory is part of a larger consignment of close to 105 tonnes of wildlife trophies that will be burnt during the Elephant Protection Summit to be held between April 29 and 30.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to convene a summit of African Heads of State, corporate leaders, philanthropists and conservation experts this month to develop a continental response to the illegal trade in wildlife products.
The meeting will also see the country host Hollywood A-listers, top conservationists, music superstars and media moguls for a ceremony that will culminate in the destruction of 105 tonnes of ivory and 1.35 tonnes of rhino horns, much of it seized by the government.
POACHING
KWS Director-General Kitili Mbathi said most of the ivory set for destruction was recovered from elephants that have died due to human-wildlife conflicts, natural causes as well as poaching.
He spoke while overseeing the loading of the ivory into containers.
“Each piece of ivory has been indexed and recorded in our electronic database for tallying before it is transported,” he said.
For the next three weeks, the wildlife agency will move large consignments of ivory from other satellite stores in Nanyuki, Isiolo and Tsavo to Nairobi.