FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2014 file photo, workers destroy illegal ivory in Dongguan, southern Guangdong province, China. Hong Kong will destroy most of its huge stockpile of confiscated illegal ivory in a process that could take up to two years, officials said Thursday, Jan. 23, 2013. The decision comes after similar action by mainland China, the U.S. and the Philippines. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)
January 23, 2014 - 7:07 PM
HONG KONG - Hong Kong says it plans to destroy most of its huge stockpile of confiscated illegal ivory.
Thursday's decision comes after similar action by mainland China, the U.S. and the Philippines.
Conservation groups had urged the government to destroy the stockpile to send a strong sign that it's serious about cracking down on the black market trade that is decimating Africa's elephants.
Officials said that starting in the first half of 2014, they would destroy 28 tons of ivory. The amount is so large that it would take "about one to two years."
Hong Kong has become a major transshipment point for illegal ivory sent to mainland China, with customs officials making frequent seizures of ivory passing through the city's busy port in recent years.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014