By By Kesavan Unnikrishnan Jun 19, 2016 in Environment Singapore, a major transit point to ship illegal ivory from Africa to China crushed 8 tonnes of seized ivory estimated to be worth $10 million.The remains will be used as landfill at an offshore island. The seized ivory was intercepted by Singapore authorities between January 2014 and December 2015. The shipments seized were disguised as coffee berries or tea leaves, and were intended to arrive in China from various parts of Africa. Ms Tan Poh Hong, AVA's chief executive officer The public destruction of ivory sends a strong message that Singapore condemns illegal wildlife trade.The public can help reduce demand by not buying such products. When demand falls, poaching will naturally fall too. AVA will continue to ensure that regulatory measures against illegal wildlife trade are enforced. Singapore, a signatory of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which banned the ivory trade in 1989.has strict penalties for importing and exporting banned animal parts. The punishment involves fines of up to S$500,000 ($369,000), and up to two years in prison. In April this year, Kenya burned more than 105 metric tons of ivory. Sri Lanka, too, burned seized ivory worth $3 Million in January this year. Over 2,700 elephant tusks weighing 7.9 tonnes were fed into an industrial rock crusher before incineration Roslan Rahman, AFP Kudos! #WorthMoreAlive Singapore crushes nearly 8,000kg of seized elephant ivory worth S$13m https://t.co/aSnZC71pB2 — IFAW (@action4ifaw) June 15, 2016 I love the sound of #ivory being crushed in the morning.

Well done, Singapore... https://t.co/VYG5ppcQ5p — Alex Hofford (@alexhofford) June 13, 2016 The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore used an industrial rock crusher to crush and pulverize over 2,700 elephant tusks weighing 7.9 tonnes and incinerated the remains. The event was attended by the Senior Minister of State for National Development and Home Affairs, Desmond Lee, along with several foreign diplomats from the British High Commission and US Embassy to Singapore.The seized ivory was intercepted by Singapore authorities between January 2014 and December 2015. The shipments seized were disguised as coffee berries or tea leaves, and were intended to arrive in China from various parts of Africa.Ms Tan Poh Hong, AVA's chief executive officer said that It was the first time that the country had destroyed seized ivory,Singapore, a signatory of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which banned the ivory trade in 1989.has strict penalties for importing and exporting banned animal parts. The punishment involves fines of up to S$500,000 ($369,000), and up to two years in prison.In April this year, Kenya burned more than 105 metric tons of ivory. Sri Lanka, too, burned seized ivory worth $3 Million in January this year. More about Singapore, Ivory, Crushed Singapore Ivory Crushed