More than 6 tons of confiscated ivory tusks, carvings and jewelry have been pulverized by US officials.

They want  to send a strong message against elephant poaching – which has reached record levels.

A pyramid-shaped pile of ivory three meters high was dumped into a massive  rock crusher at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facility outside Denver.

The illegal ivory pieces were confiscated by federal agents around the country and were  the bulk of the US “blood ivory” stockpile.

At the event a parade of speakers urged other countries to destroy their own ivory stockpiles – to send a message that condemns rampant elephant poaching.