On January 6, the government of China held a public ceremony to destroy six tons of elephant ivory seized from the illegal trade. The event took place in Dongguan in Guangdong Province.

Workers pushed tusks and ivory sculptures into a noisy, green crushing machine.

The event is the first of its kind in China and follows a crush of six tons of confiscated ivory in the U.S. in November, in Denver.

According to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which had representatives observing the crush in China, about 96 elephants a day are killed illegally in Africa, largely because of the demand for their ivory. Much of that ivory ends up in China, where it is carved and sold domestically or abroad.

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