The 1.3 tons of rhino horn was still being burned on Thursday. Photo Hou Liqiang/China Daily
Kenya's burning of 105 metric tons of ivory in April will not push up the price but will decrease the public's attraction to the trophies, said the chairman of the Kenya Wildlife Service Board of Trustees.
Richard Leakey made the comment on Wednesday at the ivory burning site.
He said it's not the first time he has heard experts, conservationists and economists say the burning of ivory will push up the price. "In 1990, when we burned the ivory, we had exactly the same comments probably by the same people," Leakey said.
"They said you are working contrary to economic theory. This will push the price up. And I said I don't believe it will because what we are working on is a market that is sentimental. And I believe if we can shame people about ivory and if we can get the international legislation behind us, the price will come crashing down."
He said the price of ivory collapsed within six months after that burn. "It went from $300 a kilo, which we knew was the price in Kenya, to less than $10 a kilo six months later. And it remains less than $10 for between 15 to 20 years."
The price, however, went up again after South Africa and some other countries were allowed by CITES to have a one-off sale of their stock piles. "And within month, the price started to soar. Within five years, the price almost went back to what it had been when we burned it," Leakey said.
CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is an international agreement between governments. It aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
In 2008, the CITES Standing Committee gave a go-ahead to the one-off sale of108 tons of government-owned ivory from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
"I am quite sure if we succeed in discussion with CITES in September and get a complete majority to support Kenya's resolution, ivory will be no longer be sold. I bet the price will go down again. If it comes down and if we can keep the ban in place, why will anyone kill elephants?", Leakey said.
He said, however, the only reason for killing elephants is domestic trade. "That's a much harder one to persuade people to ban and kill the stock on the root. I think the domestic prices of domestically traded ivory in a country that is banned internationally may rise, but the international price will come down, I believe," said the 71-year-old.
"And I ask the world, can we in the 21st century really morally and ethically justify killing wild species that are in danger, for trophies such as the ivory? Have we not reached the stage in our civilization? All of us should be shamed by the conscious regulated destruction of wild species. It's time to end it," he said, adding that's one reason he supports the burning.
Leakey said the burning of the ivory sends two messages to the world: bring the market down and bring public attraction to ivory down, too.
Kenya on April 30 set ablaze 105 tons of ivory and 1.3 tons of rhino horns to send a strong message against poaching and illegal trade in the products.
The burning has almost been finished. The remains will be moved to the formal burning site in Nairobi National Park and the burning site will be restored to its formal condition as part of the park.
Leakey said a monument will be built and some of the remains may be presented to some other states.
It was the fourth time that Kenya has burned ivory. President Daniel Arap Moi in 1989 set ablaze 12 tons while another burning was done last year by President Uhuru Kenyatta. In 2011, President Mwai Kibaki burned 5 tons in Manyani, located inside Tsavo National park, about 321.6 km (200 miles) from the capital city Nairobi.
