Tanzania: Wildlife activists praise arrest of Chinese woman

In this photo taken on Wednesday Oct. 7, 2015, Chinese national Young Feng Glan , center, is escorted by police from Kisutu Resident's Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A Chinese woman has been charged in a Tanzanian court with smuggling nearly 1.9 tons of ivory as wildlife activists applauded the move by Tanzanian authorities to crack down on the illegal ivory trade, which has devastated the elephant population in just a few years. Businesswoman Yang Feng Clan, 66, was charged Wednesday in Dar es Salaam alongside two Tanzanian men. The three suspects allegedly committed the crime between Jan. 1, 2000 and May 22, 2014. Their case was adjourned to Monday. (AP photo) In this photo taken on Wednesday Oct. 7, 2015, Chinese national Young Feng Glan , center, is escorted by police from Kisutu Resident's Magistrate Court in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A Chinese woman has been charged in a Tanzanian court with smuggling nearly 1.9 tons of ivory as wildlife activists applauded the move by Tanzanian authorities to crack down on the illegal ivory trade, which has devastated the elephant population in just a few years. Businesswoman Yang Feng Clan, 66, was charged Wednesday in Dar es Salaam alongside two Tanzanian men. The three suspects allegedly committed the crime between Jan. 1, 2000 and May 22, 2014. Their case was adjourned to Monday. (AP photo)

By Associated Press October 9, 2015 2 min read

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (AP) – Wildlife activists are applauding the arrest by Tanzanian authorities of a Chinese woman for alleged ivory smuggling.

According to the Tanzanian government, the country’s elephant population has plummeted from an estimated 109,051 in 2009 to 43,330 in 2014.

Yang Feng Clan, 66, was charged Wednesday in Dar es Salaam alongside two Tanzanian with smuggling nearly 1.9 tons of ivory between Jan. 1, 2000 and May 22, 2014. Their case was adjourned to Monday. Escorted by policewomen from the court Wednesday, Clan raised her hands over her face as a photographer took her photo.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, when asked about the case at a routine ministry briefing on Friday, said she did not know about it but asserted that China is committed to protecting endangered wildlife.

Elephant Action League said in a statement Thursday: “Tanzania has been the ground zero of elephant poaching in East Africa for the past several years.”