A photo made available shows confiscated ivory tusks, estimated by US wildlife officials to be from around 2,000 elephants, at the National Wildlife Property Repository, 13 November 2013, Denver, Colorado, United States, 14 November 2013. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is set to destroy their entire stockpile of seized ivory dating back to the 1980's by using a rock crushing machine to send a strong signal to poachers in Africa, and consumers in Asia and the United States, that the US government will not tolerate ivory trafficking. Elephant populations are in steep decline due to poaching and rampant demand, mostly from China, but also the US. The US confiscated ivory destruction follows similar symbolic events in the Gabon, Kenya and Philippines.
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