Singapore, Today almost eight tonnes of ivory have been crushed and burnt. Over 2,700 elephant tusks weighing 7.9 tonnes were fed into an industrial rock crusher before incineration. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority said, it was the fist time seized ivory had been destroyed in Singapore and previous hauls were returned to the originating country, donated to museums or kept for education.

On four separate occasions between January 2014 and December 2015, the tusks, estimated to be worth Singapore dollars 13 million (USD 9.6 million), were seized.

Desmond Lee, a senior minister of state in the interior and national development ministry said, "The public destruction of ivory sends a strong message that Singapore condemns illegal wildlife trade. By crushing the ivory, we ensure it does not re-enter the ivory market".

"There are illegal wildlife shipments caught in other ports after they came through Singapore. So we definitely need to step up efforts to enforce the strict rules," he added.