The Philippine's ivory crush earlier this year, via the US Embassy in Manila
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There's not doubt it's a symbolic move, as the ivory to be crushed wasn't part of the market anyway, and it's not the product of a major, recent bust. Bryan Christy argues in National Geographic that the symbolism is still important because it signifies that the US is fully invested in the anti-poaching fight. Christy takes a good angle on the symbolism of ivory destruction, explaining that after Kenya torched an ivory stockpile in 1989—which set up the worldwide ban—a following destruction of stockpiles worldwide could have gutted the market.Instead, some countries held on to their ivory, and ended up lobbying for ban-flouting auctions aimed at raising conservation funds. The last such auction, held in 2008, sent more than 100 metric tons of ivory to "accredited traders" in China and Japan. Since that auction, poaching rates have spiked, causing many (including myself) to argue that flooding the market with ivory (or rhino horn, and so on) only stimulates demand, rather than satiate it.If this sounds something like the massively-publicized busts and marijuana burning events that have remained in vogue in the drug war, it's because they're indeed quite similar.
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Drug seizure photos are used to highlight enforcement efforts, as they are with wildlife crime. But both also serve to highlight the fact that seizures can't catch everything. Via ICE
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