A ton of illegal ivory carved into decorative objects was destroyed in New York's Times Square today as US officials denounced poaching that kills thousands of elephants a year.
Under the gaudy neon lights of the most famous square in the world, the objects -- most of them seized from the store of a jailed Philadelphia art dealer -- were placed one by one on a conveyor belt before being dropped into the crusher to the sound of applause.
"Today's ivory crush serves as a stark reminder to the rest of the world that the United States will not tolerate wildlife crimes, especially against iconic and endangered animals," said US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell.
US officials say that between 2011 and 2014 the poaching of African elephants reached the highest level ever recorded.
In just three years around 100,000 elephants were killed for their ivory, Jewell said.
She said there was a growing demand for ivory, with international organized crime networks seeing it as a low risk, high-profit market.
Dozens of demonstrators held up posters in Times Square saying that 96 elephants fall victim to the illegal trade each day.
It was the second time that US authorities have staged a massive public destruction of ivory.
In November 2013, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which comes under the department of the interior, organized the destruction of more than five tonnes of ivory in Denver.
