US bans ivory sales, imports & exports

[Berkley]

White House
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release February 11, 2014
FACT SHEET: National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking & Commercial Ban on Trade in Elephant Ivory

[F]ederal Departments and Agencies will immediately undertake administrative actions to:

Prohibit Commercial Import of African Elephant Ivory: All commercial imports of African elephant ivory, including antiques, will be prohibited.
Prohibit Commercial Export of Elephant Ivory: All commercial exports will be prohibited, except for bona fide antiques, certain noncommercial items, and in exceptional circumstances permitted under the Endangered Species Act.
Significantly Restrict Domestic Resale of Elephant Ivory: We will finalize a proposed rule that will reaffirm and clarify that sales across state lines are prohibited, except for bona fide antiques, and will prohibit sales within a state unless the seller can demonstrate an item was lawfully imported prior to 1990 for African elephants and 1975 for Asian elephants, or under an exemption document.
Clarify the Definition of “Antique”: To qualify as an antique, an item must be more than 100 years old and meet other requirements under the Endangered Species Act. The onus will now fall on the importer, exporter, or seller to demonstrate that an item meets these criteria.

[Rick]

I foresee everything becoming Faux ivory or bone in the near future .

[drac2k]

Nothing like destroying thousands of lbs.of confiscated illegal ivory to make the price go down ; that is what happens when you cause there to be less of a commodity,right ? Why not sell the ivory, with a government certificate, and donate the money to a worthy charity.The governments could flood the markets, actually causing the prices to go down,and decreasing poaching in the process.
My greatest fear is that in the confiscation process, important artifacts will be lost forever .

[A. G. Maisey]

To me it looks as if the value of ivory, especially old ivory objects, has just been increased by a considerable amount.

Thank you gentlemen!!