More than 200 people, including three African presidents, gathered in Kenya for a three-day anti-poaching summit to find ways to stop the slaughter of Africa’s elephants by protecting at least 50 percent of these animals and their landscapes by 2020. African countries were also encouraged to destroy their ivory stockpiles. Kenya ended the summit by burning 105 tons of ivory Saturday, and President Uhuru Kenyatta pledged his support for a complete ban on the ivory trade.
African Presidents Vow to Step Up Efforts to Save Elephants
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Kenya Wildlife Service Director General Kitili Mbathi, center left, and Kenya Wildlife Service chairman Richard Leakey, center right, speak with attendees at Kenya’s ivory burn, Nairobi National Park, Kenya, April 30, 2016.
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Ivory tusks are stacked to be burned in Nairobi National Park, Kenya, April 30, 2016. On Saturday, 105 tons of elephant ivory and more than 1 ton of rhino horn were destroyed in a bid to stamp out the illegal ivory trade.
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Ivory piles begin to burn at Nairobi National Park, Kenya, April 30, 2016. On Saturday, 105 tons of elephant ivory and more than 1 ton of rhino horn were destroyed in a bid to help stamp out the illegal ivory trade.
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Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta watches 105 tons of elephant ivory and more than 1 ton of rhino horn being destroyed in a bid to stamp out the illegal ivory trade, Nairobi National Park, Kenya, April 30, 2016.