Senator Brad Hoylman Partners With U.S. Fish and Wildlife And NYS DEC to Destroy More than One Ton of Illegal Ivory in Times Square

"Ivory Crush" event, initiated by Senator Hoylman, seeks to raise awareness about illegal ivory trade and wildlife crimes against elephants

Hoylman: "An elephant is killed every 15 minutes. If we are to protect this magnificent species from extinction we need to raise awareness about the trade of illegal ivory and choke off consumer demand."

NEW YORK – Today, the U.S. government destroyed more than a ton of illegal elephant ivory in the middle of Times Square, raising awareness about the illegal ivory trade and sending a message to poachers that wildlife crimes against elephants will not be tolerated. The event, which came at the request of State Senator Brad Hoylman, was organized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation the Wildlife Conservation Society and Senator Hoylman.

State Senator Brad Hoylman, Ranking Member of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, said: “I'm proud to have initiated this effort by asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to hold an ivory crush in Times Square in my district because New York City is the epicenter of the illegal ivory trade. An elephant is killed every 15 minutes. If we are to protect this magnificent species from extinction we need to raise awareness about the trade of illegal ivory and choke off consumer demand. I applaud the Obama Administration, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation for their steadfast commitment to ending the trade of elephant ivory and thank the Times Square Alliance for their support of this historic ivory crush today in Times Square.”

New York City is the epicenter of the illegal ivory trade in the United States. A report in 2008 uncovered that New York City accounts for nearly half of all ivory products sold nationwide and in 2012, an investigation by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Manhattan District Attorneys office led to the seizure of more than $2 million worth of elephant ivory from New York City jewelers.

African elephants are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and further protected under the African Elephant Conservation Act but elephants continue to be targeted by poachers and reports show that an elephant is killed every 15 minutes.

Today’s event came about after Senator Hoylman wrote to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking that they consider hosting such an event in Times Square, within his Senate District. See a link to his letter here.

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