It's good to see it go up in flames..but to think they're the tusks from 7000 elephants...enough to make anyone cry. Apparently... one and a half tons of rhino horns were set on fire also.

I just wish they can find the dealers and put them all away for life.

At least they could have put them in a museum ... why cause pollution through burning them ?

... most probably somebody put some aside for themselves before they organised the burn.

Soon there will be no elephants in the wild.

we are gradualy losing everything,    thank heaven for the breeding programs at the various zoos and conservatorys,    by the time my grandsons are grown,   things like elephants and rhinos,   will be in picture books only,     it certainly is enough to make you cry,  

I hate stories like this. They make me feel sad and helpless. Good to hear that about the rhinos Viv but what about the elephants, tigers and others? I think there should be harsh penalties like very long gaol sentences for poaching.

There was a time when piano keys were made out of ivory, also ornaments, but not sure how it is used these days. Does anyone know? It would be great if we could have some world body that could declare the making of products out of ivory illegal as well as the poaching. 

I am disgusted that they are burning this wonderful Ivory --these poor Animals died a dreadful death for NOTHING,   they should have made a memorial or some such thing with  a plaque  -- what a dreadful dreadful WASTE shame on them!

Elephants are amazing creatures and it will be a sad, sad day if they become extinct or that they are not able to roam the wilds.

How ugly it would be if the elephants are forced into zoo yards or tiny, miniture areas. I just remember when I was a kid, watching a chained elephant in a zoo, rocking back and forth.... just like an inmate in a mental asylum. 

Elephants have such big hearts and I am not talking about the physiological aspects.

There was a rescue of an elephant who wouldn't leave its owner.... the owner was dirt poor and both the elephant and the owner were in a bad shape.. problem was solved when the owner was made a keeper in the rescue reserve.  The happiness of the two was amazing.

It's so sad to see such magnificent creatures disappear from the face of the earth all due to progress and evolution of civilisations and human greed.

Dinosaurs, mammoths , Dodo birds, left wing loonies, elephants , rhinos, pandas , polar bears ...

so sad.

wish we could preserve the soon to be extinct species for future generations

In 1979 there were an estimated 1.3 million African elephants. A decade later, widespread poaching had reduced that figure by more than half. Just 600,000 African elephants remained, and today that figure has dropped to a disgusting low. In spite of Kenya's initiative to try and curb the illegal trading, I read this last night -

   "Member states of the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) are not meeting until September, but some African countries have already drawn their battle lines on divisive issues such as the ivory trade.

Proposals for the meeting in Johannesburg were made public this week, pitting bids by Namibia and Zimbabwe to open up the trade in elephant ivory, against initiatives led by Kenya for a complete global ban on the coveted commodity.

Those seeking to open up the trade of wild animal products argue it will raise badly-needed funds for conservation, but others say it would provide cover to poachers and make products that can endanger species socially acceptable to consumers."

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-wildlife-cites-idUSKCN0XZ0GF

We are losing our biodiversity due to capitalist greed, interested in nothing more than short term profits.