Roughly 30,000 elephants are killed annually to fuel the abhorrent myth that ivory is a cure-all substance. It is believed to cure the common cold, hangovers, impotence and a variety of other illnesses. There is absolutely no medical proof that ivory has any medicinal properties what-so-ever. In fact, you might as well just chew your fingernails since you’d be eating the same stuff.
Last week smugglers went through the trouble of cutting the ivory into five inch long rectangles, coating them in chocolate and packaging them as candy bars. Officials found it a little odd that men were traveling with very heavy boxes full of candy bars, and confiscated the boxes. Once the chocolate melted it was apparent that they were not nougat filled bars of deliciousness, but if fact, proof of the death of almost 400 elephants.
Smugglers will go to any lengths to try to make a profit from the ivory trade, which is valued at $10 billion dollars a year. The chocolate covered incident in Macao, China was not alone. Boxes of chocolate covered ivory were discovered between September and December in Taiwan. Almost 1,500 tusks were found disguised as ivory in Hong Kong.
Now well it is all well and good that these are being confiscated, it would be better if it could happen before the elephants and rhinos were killed. With the ivory trade booming right now, it is spelling out certain death for the largest land mammals, and future degradation of the ecosystems in which they reside.
Endangered Living 
Heartbreaking.. it beggars belief that people still think that Ivory has some sort of magical powers.. world education is key..but easier said than done
Many times its part of their religion, and if not it has deep seated roots in their culture. It’s hard to “education” religion and culture away. If it was easy we would have equal rights and legitimate separation of church and state(I’m speaking for the US of course, because I don’t know enough about other countries politics)
Amen to that ( from a confirmed atheist)
I had not read about this newest method of confiscation but it does not surprise me. These people will stop at nothing and the trade in both horn (rhino) and ivory (ellies) is now run with a sophistication rivaling the mafia. The trade is backed by lots of money and helicopters and guns. When you speak about ivory , my understanding is it is mostly used from carving. And rhino horn is used as medicinal. I have written about both on my blog AfricaInside.org. Thanks. Lori
Elephant tusk is used just as much in medicine as rhino. Many times once it gets there there is little differentiating between the two, its just ground into a powder.
loved your blog. thanks. keep it up. change must start with awareness.