Western governments step up enforcement against Africa's poachers as organized crime syndicates realize bigger profits from slaughter of elephants, rhinos and hippos
Boom in African Ivory Looms as Global Security Threat
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KENYA: The government's wildlife service frequently burns confiscated elephant tusks in public demonstrations. Tsavo West National Park torched five tons of ivory (above) harvested from elephants killed in Malawi and Zambia and confiscated in Singapore.
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GUANGDONG, CHINA: In ivory's biggest markets around the globe, Chinese customs officers destroyed six tons of confiscated tusks on January 6, 2014.
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UNITED STATES: At the request of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence confirmed strong links between African terrorism and wildlife poaching. Clinton frequently made the case for new anti-poaching strategies, as she did to Albania's parliament in 2012 (above).
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HONG KONG: Authorities in Hong Kong revealed crates of illegal elephant tusks, rhino horns and leopard skins on August 7, 2013.