1 ton of ivory crushed in Times Square

More than a ton of illegal ivory was crushed in Times Square on Friday in an effort to halt elephant poaching and ivory trafficking.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the ivory crush would also crush "the bloody ivory market" which threatens to wipe out African elephants.

Hundreds of ivory trinkets were loaded onto a conveyor belt and into a rock crusher. Actress Kristen Davis was among the people helping to load the crusher.

The resulting powdered ivory was moved into a trough to be trucked away.

"The United States staged this event at its most famous address where messages speak their loudest -- two stories high and in lights. And today's message is this: We plan to crush the ivory trade and crush the profits of the traffickers," said Cristian Samper, Wildlife Conservation Soeity, President and CEO.

Since 1989, 13 nations have crushed and burned a total of 137 metric tons (more than 500,000 pounds) of confiscated ivory, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.