Why Officials Pulverized 1,500 Pounds of Ivory

BEIJING -- China destroyed nearly 1,500 pounds of smuggled ivory this morning to show its commitment to curbing the illegal ivory trade.

At a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center in a Beijing suburb, forestry and customs officials displayed a pile of ivory ornaments, carvings and tusks. They then fed them into machines, which pulverized them. Officials say this is the third public destruction of confiscated elephant ivory in China since 2014.

China is the world's largest consumer of smuggled tusks; the skyrocketing demand has led to an underground trade, with criminal gangs slaughtering tens of thousands of African elephants each year for Asian markets. Conservationists have warned the animal could be wiped out in the next two decades.

The Chinese government announced in February that it would ban imports of carved ivory for one year. This announcement was made 10 days before Prince William's visit to China, where people are aware of the British royal's activities in elephant conservation.

Black market sales of ivory in China, though, are still rampant. Customs in the eastern city of Hangzhou announced Thursday that they have confiscated nearly 600 pounds of smuggled ivory since last June . One woman was caught hiding the products inside boxes of red wine and chocolate in her hand luggage, according to the People's Daily Online report.

The illegal ivory trade has moved from traditional markets to online, according to a survey done by the British group Traffic. China's booming e-commerce websites are carrying thousands of advertisements for illegal wildlife products, and half of the advertisements are for ivory.