France crushes illegal ivory by Eiffel Tower
France 24
France 24 Photo / Tony Todd
The ivory, worth an estimated one million euros, was fed into a giant crushing machine and ground into tiny fragments which will be sent off for incineration.
It was the first time ivory has been publicly destroyed in Europe since a global trade ban was imposed in 1989.
"With this destruction today, France is sending an unequivocal message to poachers, traffickers and consumers of illicit wildlife products," French Environment Minister Philippe Martin, who attended the event in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in central Paris, said Thursday.
"We are resolved to continue the fight against trafficking, and to
remove any temptation to recover the seized ivory" he added, referring
to the significant contraband market for ivory.
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