The strikes me as very wrong headed. I am not for the ivory trade at all, but to me, destroying this ivory is like adding insult to injury. These animals were killed for the very thing that is going to be destroyed, and destroying it will likely only bring up the black market price of the raw product over all. So why not do something positive like spread them out amongst colleges for displays on the subject? Heck, why not admit that the reason we have this heinous practice is because we, the “civilized nations” decided to control Africa and make it all about “money” and not allow them the capacity to make money in less destructive ways? No….we’ll just destroy the only thing left of these animals and create a higher market price for the product. It makes me doubly sad…

Obama administration to destroy 6-ton ivory stockpile

The Obama administration is set to pulverize 6 tons of ivory with a rock crusher in a bid to send a worldwide message that the U.S. does not accept poaching.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will crush the ivory – which includes raw and carved tusks, ornaments and jewelry seized over the past 25 years — on Nov. 14 at the national wildlife repository in Denver, according to TIME.

“We are taking an important step next week, Daniel Ashe, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said Tuesday. “We’re doing that in the hopes of raising the profile of this issue and also to try to inspire other nations around the world to deal with their stockpiles.”

The ivory crushing will be America’s first, but it only represents a fraction of the ivory that is available on the global market, TIME reports.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora said in 2011 illegal trade of ivory was at its highest level in two decades, fueled by demand from areas like East Asia and the involvement of criminal groups. Ivory trade generates an annual revenue of around $10 billion.

The African Conservation Act, passed by Congress in 1989, has largely banned imports and exports of ivory in the U.S., with shipments being seized at borders and ports.