“The federal government is moving to ban virtually all sales of items containing African elephant ivory within the U.S.,” writes Chris Arnold on Thursday’s (6/2) National Public Radio. “For a long time it’s been illegal to import elephant ivory. This new rule extends the ban to cover ivory that’s already here. The new regulations come out of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which says the move will further limit the market for traffickers of illegal ivory.… Any regulation can have unintended consequences. And one group that you might not expect to be worried about this is The League of American Orchestras. It turns out that many professional musicians play stringed instruments that have pieces of ivory used in their construction, for example ivory tuning pegs. Some antique violins and cellos are quite valuable both in terms of their price tags and their value to the musicians who play them. So the orchestra association says it worked with the Obama administration to craft the new regulations in a way that will allow for the sale and interstate transport of such instruments.” Click here for updated information from the League about the new regulations.
Posted June 3, 2016
