Vietnam seizes over a tonne of smuggled African ivory

Vietnamese authorities have discovered and confiscated more than a tonne of ivory illegally smuggled in from Africa. According to the AP news agency, 221 elephant tusks weighing a total of 1,193 kilograms were found hidden inside three containers of timber that had arrived in the country a month earlier.

Besides the ivory, the contraband — believed to have originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — also included nearly 80 kilograms of animal bones, likely from large cats. Ground bones from wild animals are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Vietnam as a hub for illegal wildlife trade

Vietnam is regarded as one of the key transit points for the illegal trade in wildlife, both alive and dead. Much of this contraband is destined for China, though demand also persists within Vietnam itself and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Most trade in ivory is banned under an international treaty — the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) — which has been signed by nearly every UN member state.

According to AP, this is the largest ivory shipment ever discovered at Quy Nhon port. Even larger seizures have occurred in Vietnam over the past decade, however — including two separate shipments of seven tonnes each found in the port cities of Da Nang and Hai Phong.

Source: ekolist.cz