YANGON, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar authorities ceremonially destroyed confiscated wildlife parts, including elephant ivories in Yangon.
The authorities Sunday burnt 1.15 million U.S. dollars' worth wildlife parts which include 219 ivory, 210 dried pieces of elephant trunk, 527 bones of tigers, leopards and other wild animals, 800 different horns, 134.7 kg of pangolin scales and 241 parts of other wildlife's parts.
Organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conversation, it was the second of its kind in the country when 1.3 million U.S. dollars' worth seized wildlife parts were ceremonially burnt in capital Nay Pyi Taw in October last year.
Union Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation U Ohn Win called for efforts in combating illegal wildlife trafficking as well as to protect the country's wildlife from being killed by the poachers.
The destructing of such wildlife parts aims to raise public awareness for law enforcement on illegal trade of wild fauna and flora and derivatives, to notify people regarding to legal actions taken and bans of local black wildlife market on elephant poaching as well as to share the message that wildlife crime will no longer be tolerated in the country.
According to the figures, there were 112 wild elephants killed nationwide from 2010 to 2019 January this year.
The wildlife crimes mostly occurred in Yangon, Bago, Ayeyarwaddy regions and elephant poaching also reached to Mandalay, Sagaing reigons and Rakhine state.
