HONG KONG, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- China's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said it would dispose of part of the country's stockpile of ivory by incineration.
Under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, China was allowed to purchase 62 tons of raw ivory in 2008 from four African countries after trade in the substance became illegal, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
The government of China is keeping a "small amount" of that stockpile, but is forfeiting the rest to be destroyed, a statement from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said Thursday.
The disposal was expected to begin in the first half of 2014 and would be completed in one to two years, the department said.
