MOZAMBIQUE.- 2.5 tons of ivory and rhinoceros horns are to be burned in Mozambique as part of a campaign that is determined to put a stop to poaching in the country, which has been struck by a huge wave of hunting over the past few months. If this is to continue, soon enough there won't be anymore rhinoceros or elephants left.

Today, almost 2.4 tons of ivory and 193 kilos of rhinoceros horns (around 86 pieces) will be set on fire, during the biggest destruction of these objects in history, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society. Within the piles collected 65 pieces of rhino horns were confiscated from a Chinese man.

The fire will be set this afternoon with the help of many volunteers. Armed guards with be present to ensure that every piece is turned to ashes.

Mozambique has lost half of its elephant population (100,000 elephants) over the last 5 years in order to satisfy China's high demands.

South Africa lost 1,125 rhinos in 2014, a 20% increase from 2013, in order to sell them to Vietnam where they are used as an essential ingredient in traditional medicine.

Over the last months, the Republic of Congo, China, United Arab Emirates and the United States have publicly destroyed many ivory reserves. This is a tricky situation given that if in a near future governments decided to abolish the prohibition of ivory and rhino horns' commerce, there won't be anyplace the material can be extracted from. Ideally, the main objective would be to stop using said material all together, specially in Asian countries such as China.

The United States triturated 1 ton of ivory in Times Square.

By burning the material, Mozambique intends to send a message world wide saying that they will no longer tolerate poaching nor the destruction of their wildlife, such as elephants and rhinoceros.

With information from Reuters and Focus Africa Foundation

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