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Malawian
President Peter Mutharika (pictured) postponed the burning of a separate ivory
stockpile in April (Photo: AFP)
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Tanzania has blocked
Malawi from burning 2.6 tonnes of ivory, saying it needs to use the tusks as
evidence for the prosecution of suspected poachers. The nearly 800 tusks were
intercepted by customs officials as they were being smuggled into Malawi from
Tanzania. The
director of Malawi's wildlife department said he was disappointed with the
court order, which bans the burning of the ivory for three months.
Malawi's
elephant population has halved since 1980, mainly due to poaching.
Tanzania's
has declined by 60% in the past five years.
BBC News report continues:
Last
month, a court fined two Malawian siblings US$5,500 (£3,500) for their part in
trafficking the ivory and ordered it be burned within 20 days, AFP news agency
reports.
But
Tanzania's authorities successfully sought an order to block the destruction
from the High Court in the Malawian city of Mzuzu.
"We
were all set to burn the trafficked ivory on Friday morning to show our
commitment to the fight against elephant poaching and illegal
trafficking," said Bright Kumchedwa, director of Malawi's parks and
wildlife department.
In
April the Malawian government decided to postpone the burning of four tonnes of
ivory at the last minute.
It
said it wanted to delay burning the stockpile so it could boost it with the 2.6
tonnes of elephant tusks, which were being held because of court cases.
Conservationists
say poaching has surged across sub-Saharan Africa in the past few years, with
gangs killing elephants and rhinos for their tusks and horns to feed the
ever-increasing demand from Asia.
Last year, the leaders of
Botswana, Gabon, Chad and Tanzania pledged to honour
a 10-year moratorium on the sale of ivory.
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