A Cautionary Tale if Your Pipes Have Ivory

[Theyoungkiltman]

Imho the problem is that all the foreign gov. burn or otherwise destroy ivory captured from poachers when it could be sold to reduce demand. Some african nations have special permission to do that now. This will not entirely end poaching but along with tighter enforcement of poaching laws (not possession of small quantities) and increasing stability of nations that contain elephants poaching will be greatly reduced.

[TheOfficialBren]

As a musician I find this situation absolutely fracked!

Have you guys heard the story about Gibson Guitars having one of their plants raided by a flipping SWAT team of Federal agents because of a minor mistake on some paperwork? The government thought they were using illegal, rare woods in the manufacture of their instruments. Their facilities were raided and many tousands of dollars of raw materials and equipment were confiscated. I believe that some instruments were taken as well.

It turns out that there was no contraband whatsoever and that Gibson Guitars, a company with a sterling reputation before and since, had actually been following the law to the letter. A stupid numbskull somewhere up the ladder screwed up and as a result the heavy hand of the state came down upon them. (Not going any further to avoid breaking the politics rule. I'll ammend this post if necessary to avoid a rule violation.)

Reposting this piping link on Facebook. Thanks, Alex.

[OC Richard]

Apparently it's worse for us pipers than we had thought

http://www.thebagpipeplace.com/Ivory_Law.html

Here's the actual US Government site

http://www.fws.gov/international/tra...d-answers.html

It's not just travelling with ivory; here in the USA it is now illegal to possess ivory that doesn't have proper documentation.

To qualify for the certificate you have to be able to establish that the ivory was "legally acquired and removed from the wild" prior to 1976 AND that you yourself acquired them before February 2014.

Pipers with ivory-mounted pipes can't sell these instruments, and carrying them in a public place subjects them to possible seizure, unless they have certificates. Us pipers with vintage pipes are either scrambling to get certificates, or (if we have pipes that can't be certified) sending our lovely vintage pipes off to local makers to have the ivory stripped off and replaced with anything else.

Don't put it past government agents to show up at a Highland Games and start snapping up pipes. It happened here, a few years ago, when an agent at a local Highland Games seized one vendor's entire van-full of sealskin sporrans.

[creagdhubh]

Don't put it past government agents to show up at a Highland Games and start snapping up pipes. It happened here, a few years ago, when an agent at a local Highland Games seized one vendor's entire van-full of sealskin sporrans.

Oh my word!

[Jack Daw]

Apparently it's worse for us pipers than we had thought

http://www.thebagpipeplace.com/Ivory_Law.html

It's not just travelling with ivory; here in the USA it is now illegal to possess ivory that doesn't have proper documentation.

To qualify for the certificate you have to be able to establish that your pipes were brought into the USA prior to 1976 AND that you yourself acquired them before February 2014.

Pipers with ivory-mounted pipes can't sell these instruments, and carrying them in a public place subjects them to possible seizure, unless they have certificates. Many of us will be sending our lovely vintage pipes off to local makers to have the ivory stripped off and replaced with anything else.

Don't put it past government agents to show up at a Highland Games and start snapping up pipes. It happened here, a few years ago, when an agent at a local Highland Games seized one vendor's entire van-full of sealskin sporrans.

I'll pass the word on to some of my piper-buddies that have ivory pipes.

[vmac3205]

Ridiculous indeed. I heard about this through my good mate and professional piper, Matt Pantaleoni. He's just over in Scotland right now competing in the solo-piping circuit and heard the news there. Let's just say he's furious! And rightly so. He has been urging his fellow pipers and pipe enthusiasts here in America to write to their respected Congressman and Senators, as well as sign the various petitions that have been circulating.

"If you are a piper or piping enthusiast -- whether you own ivory pipes or not -- I urge you to write to your Congressman and Senators and make them aware of the new executive order's devastating impact on musicians generally and particularly pipers. We must make our voice heard! Musicians are not criminals!"

-Professional Piper and Piping Instructor Matt Pantaleoni, August 5, 2014

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Ivor...262753251.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dougband...-as-criminals/

I wrote mine and heard NOTHING back. I shall try again. It is an election year.

[tulloch]

We watch in horror as extremists destroy religious shrines because of their beliefs and need to control. Will our government wake up to the foolishness of destruction and mutilation of musical and artistic treasures? Where will it end?

[tulloch]

The pipes have been returned, after a hefty fine was paid, of course.

What is the whole story? Why a fine if he had the certificates? How much was the fine?

[unixken]

The pipes have been returned, after a hefty fine was paid, of course.

So what's to stop the same thing from happening again, I wonder? Upon paying the fines, were they given documentation that exempts the pipes from future seizures? Or are they still at risk of repeat, every time they travel?

[OC Richard]

I just now changed the wording on my post above a bit, after reading the actual US Government (Fish and Wildlife) site

http://www.fws.gov/international/tra...d-answers.html

It's confusing (what Government things aren't?) because on the face of it the only requirement seems to be that you have to prove that the ivory was "legally acquired and removed from the wild" prior to 1976 (which is a given, with vintage pipes, at least the "removed from the wild" part) AND that you possessed the pipes prior to February 2014.

The part below seems fair

February 26, 1976, is the date the African elephant was first listed under CITES (the pre-Convention date). An item that contains African elephant ivory that was removed from the wild prior to February 26, 1976, is considered to be a pre-Convention specimen. This does not mean that the current owner must have purchased or acquired it prior to 1976, but that the item was manufactured from ivory that was taken from the wild prior to 1976. For example, a musical instrument that was manufactured in 1965 using African elephant ivory would be considered a pre-Convention specimen. Likewise, an instrument manufactured in 1985 using ivory acquired by the manufacturer in 1975 would also be considered a pre-Convention specimen. Since it is unlawful to possess specimens that have been traded contrary to CITES or taken in violation of the ESA, the ivory must have been legally acquired.

But there's the strange "antiques" clause. Many pipers have pipes which are over 100 years old. Seems that your 100 year old pipes have to be proven to have come into the country prior to 1982

We intend to incorporate the Endangered Species Act’s exemptions for commercial trade of 100-year-old antiques into regulations that re-affirm the criteria that must be met for an item to qualify as an antique.


UPDATE as of 5/15/14: The first step in this action was completed on February 25, 2014, with the issuance of Director’s Order 210.
On May 15, 2014, we revised Director’s Order 210 to allow the sale of certain 100-year-old items that were either created in the United States or imported prior to September 22, 1982—the date that antique ports were designated. Prior to this decision to allow enforcement discretion, items imported before September 22, 1982, would not be able to be sold. This is a common sense revision to allow for the sale of items that are 100 years old or older but could not have been imported through a designated antique port.