Singapore held its first-ever Ivory crush on Monday night, destroying nearly eight metric tons of confiscated elephant ivory worth about AU$13 Million.  The banned tusks were run through a rock crusher and then incinerated.

"The public destruction of ivory sends a strong message that Singapore condemns illegal wildlife trade," said Desmond Lee, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Home Affairs.  "By crushing the ivory, we ensure that it does not re-enter the ivory market.  Tackling this illicit trade requires close international cooperation, and also the assistance of the public and non-governmental organisations.  We will continue our enforcement efforts, to prevent Singapore from being used as a transit point," he added.

There's no real market for Ivory in Singapore, according to a study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC.  But the city-state is an important transit hub for illegal ivory shipments moving from Africa to China and Vietnam.  TRAFFIC says Singapore authorities confiscated more than seven metric tons of Ivory between 2013 and 2015. 

Two months ago, Kenya burned more than 105 metric tons of ivory.  Last Sunday, South Sudan, too, burned over five metric tons of seized ivory and rhino horn.