DUBAI // Six tonnes of ivory seized from smugglers is to be destroyed.
The Environment Department at Dubai Municipality handed over the ivory, which included polished and rough tusks, bracelets and powder, to the Ministry of Environment and Water.
Alyaa Al Harmoudi, director of the department, said that the ivory, confiscated by the inspectors during their routine inspections, was taken from African elephants, which are listed in the first addendum of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which the UAE joined in 1990.
She said the Waste Management Department at Dubai Municipality suggested a new way to dispose of the ivory by grinding it into small pieces.
Ms Al Harmodi said that the Municipality works to combat the illegal trafficking of endangered species, as well punishing violators.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
