“The United States Fish and Wildlife Service will announce a near-total ban on the commercial trade of African elephant ivory on Thursday,” reports Jada F. Smith in Thursday’s (6/2) New York Times. “Under current guidelines, ivory can be sold if it was brought into the United States before it was listed as endangered or if the elephant died of natural causes, as long as there is documentation. The new rules will restrict those sales to genuine antiques … that have been lawfully imported, as well as items like musical instruments that were made using less than 200 grams of ivory. The new rules aim to curb the rampant slaughter of the endangered species.… One major exception to the rules will allow musicians to buy and sell instruments with small amounts of ivory, as well as carry them on international flights.… ‘We are so pleased,’ said Heather Noonan, the vice president for advocacy at the League of American Orchestras. ‘We’re particularly pleased that the rule confirms that domestic trade and international travel with existing musical instruments that contain small amounts of African elephant ivory aren’t contributing to the poaching crisis.’ ” For more from the League on ivory and musical instruments, click here.
Posted June 2, 2016
