The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is building up its fight against the illegal ivory trade, following the latest seizure of ivory in Kenya...

The charity has expressed concerns that Kenya is becoming culpable in the increasing scourge of illegal ivory trading, much of which is heading to China and the Far East...

"Incidences of elephant poaching are on the rise in Kenya and it is now emerging that the country is not only a source of illegal ivory but has also become one of the smuggling routes of choice for traffickers..." explains James Isiche of IFAW...

More than half a tonne of ivory has been seized by customs officials in two Asian countries over a period of a few days in July...

Thai customs officials discovered 456 kg of ivory which had been hidden in crates aboard a flight from Kenya...

Vietnam officials also arrested two Vietnamese passengers who had 137 kilos of ivory, says the charity...

The smugglers had transported the consignment from Angola through Kenya before sending it to Asia....

IFAW has commended the Thai and Vietnam customs officials for their confiscation of the hauls and for making arrests, but cites Kenya’s role in the transit as troubling...

The trend of seizures in the last one and a half years connected to Kenya is a concern says IFAW...

"There is need and urgency for all authorities in Kenya and other elephant range states to protect elephants from poachers as well as to seal off these routes to deter criminal gangs involved in this vice..." says Isiche...

The charity is also campaigning in Cape Town in South Africa which has seen a number of large scale ivory collections captured in the last year...

Even so the seizures are just a fraction of the ivory that is trafficked out of Africa undetected into illegal markets across Asia...

A recent report by IFAW shows that demand for ivory in China and other Asian countries is largely to blame for rising elephant poaching in Africa and research by TRAFFIC, the monitor for wildlife corruption, revealed 2011 as the biggest ever for illegal ivory seizures worldwide...

IFAW, the charity that trains law enforcement officers in wildlife trafficking prevention and campaigns to saves animals from persecution and cruelty, is appealing for more action to end ivory trade once and for all...

The charity also appeals for funds for conservation programmes to protect elephants from extinction, and educate about the need to protect elephants before it is too late...