President Kenyatta leads historic torching of ivory

President Kenyatta leads historic torching of ivory

President Uhuru Kenyatta will lead in the historic torching of 105 tons of elephant ivory and 1.35 of rhino horn at the Nairobi National Park on Saturday.

It will be the largest ever burn of ivory, with the 105 tones – representing thousands of dead elephants killed by poachers.

Dignitaries from all over the world are expected to attend the event.

The stockpile to be burnt is an accumulation of ivory from 1989, in a national inventory done for the first time in Kenya last year, which helped determine the number of rhino horns and ivory and their location.

In 2008, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna allowed Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, to sell their 102 tonnes of ivory and rhino horns.

Some of the world’s leading conservation groups are rooting for enforcement of laws and serious legal measures against well connected individuals, feeding the illicit ivory trade.

On Friday, President Uhuru Kenyatta, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and Gabon’s Ali Bongo Ondimba who attended the Giants Club Summit at the Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nanyuki said they will push for a total ban on the ivory trade.

They hope to do this during this year’s convention on international trade in endangered species (cites) conference in South Africa.

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kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta Ivory Ivory ban

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