Belgium Crushes 1.5 Tons Of Ivory: “We Are Losing An Elephant Every 15 Minutes”

Belgium became the latest name in a growing list of countries to destroy their ivory stockpiles on Wednesday, when the nation held an event to crush 1.5 tons of confiscated ivory. Hosted by the Belgian Vice Prime Minister Laurette Onkelinx and orchestrated by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the event was meant as a message to ivory poachers and wildlife traffickers around the world.

"The Belgian government is putting wildlife traffickers on notice that their pursuit of profit at the expense of the world's natural heritage and biodiversity will not be tolerated," said Azzedine Downes, IFAW CEO and President, who spoke at the event. "The Belgian government should be saluted for taking a firm and public stand on ivory trafficking and working to save the world's threatened elephants. Not only are we losing an elephant every 15 minutes but the ivory trade is undercutting law and order in elephant range states and enriching organised crime syndicates – the slaughter of elephants must be stopped."

Belgium joins China and the U.S., which each crushed a six-ton pile in the past few months, as well as the Philippines (destroyed five tons last June), Hong Kong announced a plan to incinerate 28 tons over the next two years) and France (crushed their stockpile earlier this year).