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Re: Chinese Ivory

Posted By: Bill H
Posted Date: Apr 18, 2012 (09:46 AM)

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Unless you can document your ivory as antique through responsible authority in your country of residence, you can't legally sell it to someone in another country. In the USA, the governing authority is the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

In the USA, the state of California has its own separate set of laws that ban all sales of ivory within the state, as well as possession 'with the intent to sell' the material. These statutes have recently been enforced with a series of raids of auction houses and flea markets, accompanied by some arrests of sellers. Possession of ivory without the intent to sell apparently is still legal there.

If you don't live in California or plan to export your ivory to another country, it may be legal to sell it, but you should check your local laws vis-a-vis enforcement of CITES (the 'Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species' of fauna and flora).

Good luck,

Bill H.

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