Burmese government burns illegal wildlife products worth $1.3 million in bid to deter traffickers

Law enforcement authorities in Burma have incinerated seized wildlife crime products with an estimated value of $1.3 million as part of wider crackdown on animal part trafficking.

Officials from the country’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation ceremonially set fire to a huge pyre of confiscated trafficked products made from animal parts, including elephant tusks, antelope horn and pangolin scales.

The items included 277 products made from ivory, 227 elephant and other wildlife’s bones, 45 pieces of different wildlife skins, 1,544 animal horns, 45.5kgs of pangolin scales, and 128 varieties of other animal parts.

Speaking during the ceremony, Burma’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation U Ohn Win said: “”It is crucial to sustainably conserve our country’s natural resources, including land, water, forest, mountains and wildlife, for the sake of our future generations. We designate and establish protected areas for biodiversity conservation.”

The ministry said the ceremony was organised to help raise awareness of the threat posed by wildlife smuggling in Burma, and to dissuade people who might be tempted to become involved in the trafficking trade.

Burma is a major hub for wildlife smugglers, who use the country as a base from which to traffic illegal items made from animal parts to China and other Asian nations.

In a report published earlier this week, conservation charity Save the Elephants revealed that China’s recent crackdown on the ivory trade had fuelled a “prolific growth” in the illicit animal parts trade in the Burma-China border town of Mong La.

The study found that the number of new ivory items found for sale in the town had grown by 63% over the course of the past three years, and now accounts for over a third of the ivory seen in the country.

According to the report, Chinese visitors are able to smuggle ivory purchased in Mong La back to their home country with little fear of being caught.

It also noted that a computer-driven machine in one shop in the town enables Chinese customers to mass produce decorative products made out of ivory.

Lucy Vigne, lead author of the report, commented: “Poaching is a problem for elephants in Myanmar but the country also provides a largely unchecked conduit for illegal African ivory carved in the region to be smuggled into China, in violation of International Law.

“The authorities are not deterring ivory smugglers and trade in ivory and other endangered wildlife products that is running riot to meet the continued Chinese demand.”

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