1st Ld: China destroys 662 kg of illegal ivory

The Chinese government on Friday destroyed 662 kg of confiscated ivory, in the second such move designed to demonstrate its stance against illegal wildlife trafficking.

The illegal ivory, which was seized over the past year, was dumped into crushers and ground down at a ceremony held in Beijing by the State Forestry Administration and the General Administration of Customs.

In January 2014, the government destroyed 6.1 tonnes of confiscated ivory in the southeastern city of Dongguan. Endi