Many world leaders, as well as celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman, will be attending the Elephant Protection Initiative this April, where the local government plans to make a very bold move.
Over 120 tonnes of ivory, representing the deaths of over 4,000 elephants, will be destroyed as part of a massive anti-ivory and anti-poaching statement.
Kenyan presidential spokesman Manoah Esipisu states "Kenya plans to use the occasion to torch as many as 120 tonnes of ivory, the largest stockpile of ivory ever destroyed by any country, as proof of our commitment to zero tolerance for poaching and illegal ivory trade. The fire will be eight times the size of any ivory stockpile destroyed so far."
The Wildlife Management and Conservation Act of 2013 added more park rangers and improved surveillance at local airports, which has in turn contributed to the number of elephant and rhino poachings being reduced from 57 to just five.
However, reports state that outside of Kenya - in the rest of Africa - up to 100,000 elephants have been killed for their ivory in the last three years alone.
