Mozambique destroys large stockpile of ivory, rhino horn in attempt to curb elephant poaching
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Mozambique says it has destroyed a large stockpile of confiscated ivory and rhino horn in an effort to curb severe poaching of the country's elephant population.
Samiro Magane, a conservation official in Mozambique, said in a telephone interview that the burning of the ivory and rhino horn on Monday shows the government's policy of "zero tolerance" toward poaching.
The Wildlife Conservation Society, a New York-based group that works in Mozambique, says a total of 5,370 pounds (2.4 metric tons) of ivory and dozens of rhino horn pieces weighing a total of nearly 440 pounds (200 kilograms) were destroyed.
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Conservationists say the number of elephants in Mozambique has dropped nearly 50 percent to about 10,300 in the last five years because of poaching.