6 tons of seized ivory being crushed in Denver
COMMERCE CITY — U.S. officials have destroyed more than 6 tons of confiscated ivory tusks, carvings and jewelry to send a message against elephant poaching that has reached record levels.
The pyramid-shaped pile of ivory 10 feet high was dumped into a massive steel rock crusher Thursday at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facility outside Denver.
The ivory tusks, statues and jewelry were confiscated by federal agents around the country. Officials say it was the bulk of the U.S. “blood ivory” stockpile.
A parade of speakers, including Fish and Wildlife director Dan Ashe, urged other countries to destroy their own ivory stockpiles to send a message that condemns rampant elephant poaching.
Here are 10 things to know about the ivory crush.
Steve Oberholtzer, a special agent for the Fish and Wildlife Service, talks about ivory poachers as he is surrounded by tons of ivory at the the National Wildlife Property Repository at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Commerce City, Colo., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. Over 6-tons of ivory tusk and carvings worth millions of dollars that will be crushed at the facility on Thursday. The items were seized from smugglers, traders and tourists at U.S. ports of entry after a global ban on the ivory trade went into effect in 1989. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Steve Oberholtzer, a special agent for the Fish and Wildlife Service, talks about ivory poachers as he is surrounded by tons of ivory at the the National Wildlife Property Repository at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Commerce City, Colo., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. Over 6-tons of ivory tusk and carvings worth millions of dollars that will be crushed at the facility on Thursday. The items were seized from smugglers, traders and tourists at U.S. ports of entry after a global ban on the ivory trade went into effect in 1989. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Edward Grace, a wildlife enforcement agent, holds a carved ivory tusk at the the National Wildlife Property Repository at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Commerce City, Colo., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. The tusk is part over 6-tons of ivory tusk and carvings worth millions of dollars that will be crushed at the facility on Thursday. The items were seized from smugglers, traders and tourists at U.S. ports of entry after a global ban on the ivory trade went into effect in 1989. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
Edward Grace, a wildlife enforcement agent, holds piece of a carved ivory at the the National Wildlife Property Repository at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Commerce City, Colo., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. The item is part over 6-tons of ivory tusk and carvings worth millions of dollars that will be crushed at the facility on Thursday. The items were seized from smugglers, traders and tourists at U.S. ports of entry after a global ban on the ivory trade went into effect in 1989. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)
An ivory carving stands a head above others on display at the at the the National Wildlife Property Repository at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Commerce City, Colo., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. The item is part over 6-tons of ivory tusk and carvings worth millions of dollars that will be crushed at the facility on Thursday. The items were seized from smugglers, traders and tourists at U.S. ports of entry after a global ban on the ivory trade went into effect in 1989. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)