FWS Relaxes Some Conditions on Importation of African Ivory
The Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced two administrative actions related to rules on trade in elephant ivory. The agency on May 15 revised a Director’s Order to allow for the international transportation of certain musical instruments containing African elephant ivory, as well as the importation of museum items containing ivory. It also announced a final rule to “reduce the regulatory impact on the public” of the “use after import” requirement for elephant ivory.
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Under the changes (here) to Director’s Order No. 210 (here) on trade in elephant ivory, rhinoceros horn, and other parts and products of endangered species and its Appendix A (here), FWS says it will allow for international transport by musicians of certain musical instruments containing African elephant ivory, and for the import of museum specimens and certain other items not intended for sale. Owners of these items will need to prove that they were legally acquired prior to Feb. 26, 1976 and have not been bought or sold since Feb. 25, 2014, it said.
FWS also announced it will soon issue a final rule to lessen the burden of “use after import” regulations for elephant ivory. The current restrict domestic sales of African elephant ivory by requiring sellers to show documentation of the date that their ivory was imported. The new regulations will require sellers to demonstrate their ivory was lawfully imported prior to the listing of the African elephant by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1990 or that the ivory was legally imported under a CITES pre-Convention certificate. FWS says the change “is intended to reduce the regulatory impact on the public without reducing conservation benefits for African elephants.”