Blood ivory destruction in Colombo

The government will in a public ceremony, destroy a large stock of blood ivory confiscated by the Sri Lanka Customs in 2012.

The decision to destroy the stock of blood ivory was taken by President Maithripala Sirisena and the government, and the ceremonial event will take place at the Galle Face Green in Colombo, at 9.30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 26, with the participation of the President, Prime Minister, and Speaker of Parliament, ministers, diplomats and the general public. John Scanlon, Secretary General of the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) has also been invited by the government to attend the event, which will be followed by Buddhist, Hindu, Islam and Christian ceremonies.

The public destruction of the confiscated ivory is expected to send a strong message to the Asian region, as most of the illegal international wildlife trade takes place along the Indian Ocean sea route through Sri Lankan ports.