Smash and burn

A customs officer holds a piece of carved ivory, part of seized ivory to be destroyed, at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Brussels, in this file pic

IT is estimated that 35,000 to 50,000 elephants are killed each year as a result of the demand for ivory.

Ivory has been used by humans for millennia to make jewellery, decorative items and furniture. However, the sale of ivory in recent years has caused controversy as trade is directly linked to the dwindling number of elephants worldwide.