A Cautionary Tale if Your Pipes Have Ivory

[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.