Truth About Ivory
Copyright 2009 David Warther
I have been asked to write this informational letter in order to help cue makers understand the legal aspects of working with ivory. This letter conveys my understanding of the various laws relative to ivory and it contains my suggestions regarding these laws from a cue makers perspective. I will protect myself here by saying that this letter should not to be construed by the reader as being complete in regards to this subject and I am not a Government employee nor a lawyer so my information and advice is free but not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. It is as accurate and complete as my knowledge and understanding is about this subject at the time of the writing.
This article has been written for its intended audience of members of the American Cuemakers Association . It can be printed in their publication and distributed to their members . It is not to be re - printed or distributed without the permission of its’ author and copywriter David Warther.
The buying and selling of ivory , whether it be of a whole animal tusk or of a very tiny little part is considered , by our Government and the governments of the world , as being the same. It does not matter how small a part of ivory you may have in a cue stick , that ivory part is as important in the application of the law as is a shipload of elephant tusks is on the high seas. In the eyes of the law there is no difference between a cue ferrule and an elephant tusk - they are both ivory and both are subject to the same laws in almost all situations and jurisdictions.
It is good to understand there are several forms of ivory and there are differing laws relative to them. Warthog and hippo ivory are , in general , the least used forms of ivory because they are small and difficult to work , ugly , etc. . They are the least problematic from a legal standpoint. I know of no restrictions of buying ,selling, or transporting this type ivory within the 50 States and importation and exportation of raw or worked ivory from these species is fairly simple and can be handled with permits from the Commerce Department in conjunction with USDA ( Dept. Agriculture ) and US F& W ( Fish & Wildlife ) .
Next on the list are ivory types from marine mammals - specifically Whale and Walrus ivory. These animals fall under the mutual jurisdiction and law enforcement realm of the Dept. of Fisheries ( Commerce Dept. ) and US F & W. These animals and their parts , including their ivory teeth and tusks , are regulated by the Marine Mammal Act ( MMA ) of 1972 and relative additions and modifications to the act as seen in the CFR ( Code of Federal Regulations ) . There is a clause in MMA regarding the Interstate Commerce ( IC ) of these animal parts. By law the parts cannot enter IC unless they were harvested and brought into the USA prior to 1972. Now comes the tricky part - the Gov't does not like IC in these parts and has conveniently found the 1972 date to be inconsequential. For a number of years they tried different ways to have folks register their tusks , have Eskimos register new tusks , etc.. Today little is mentioned about these earlier registration processes and they pretty much have swept the idea that this happened under the rug. They like , very much , to haunt Marine Mammal products . The result is that a person can get into a lot of hot water with these materials even on an Intrastate basis of commerce. I do NOT touch these materials and strongly suggest that everyone avoid them. The quality of this type ivory is also such that most cue makers would want to avoid them anyway.
Fossil Walrus ivory ( FWI ) is found on a specific Island in Alaska and is available for legal commerce within the USA. It is technically mineralized and not fossilized so it can be worked with conventional tools. This is a beautiful material but it has a few drawbacks. It is structurally not suited for round stock for cues. It can make nice inlay material - especially the burled inner core area. It is very costly. A nice tusk section about 1.25 by 1.75 oval by 5 inches long would be $ 400 to $600 depending upon beauty. I handle this material but seldom sell it to cue makers due to the cost. Its' primary application is in knife making and in musical instrument parts. A few cue makers have bought small slabs of the burled core area for inlays. This material cannot ship Internationally - this a proclamation from F& W. I believe the proclamation was made because I think the Gov't cannot discern between modern walrus ivory ( known as white walrus = WWI ) and FWI in some cases. Some FWI is as white on the inside as WWI . Some FWI has only been buried in the ground 80 to 100 years while others have been there for thousands so a Carbon test will not prove or disprove WWI from FWI as C14 tests are accurate to within 100 years + - , hence the problem. I believe the Gov't does not want to harm the commerce for the island people from where the material comes but they do not want to develop a trade in WWI masquerading as FWI so they allow Interstate Commerce but disallow Int'l commerce. That is my guess anyway.
Fossil Mammoth Ivory ( FMI ) is also mineralized and the fossil name is , as with FWI , a misnomer. The oldest piece of artwork made by man as well as the oldest piece of artwork depicting a human have both been made of ancient mammoth ivory - albeit made when the creatures still roamed the steppes of Russia. The material is available in legal trade from Alaska , Canada , and Russia. It is usually 10,000 to 20,000 years old although some is newer ( by a few thousand years ) and some is older. Less than 1 % of what is found is of a quality that can be used. Of this 1% there is a large amount that is crumbling and falling apart in small pieces. Even the best FMI is highly problematic. In general , the best quality stock comes from the north coast of Siberia although I have seen excellent ivory from Alaska. Canadian stock is seldom excellent although I have seen some fairly good material from there - it is rare.
I utilize about 750 pounds of this material a year and only purchase the top grade material and yet I can only successfully make very small parts - nuts and saddles of guitars . Most of this material is the color of an almond colored light switch. Some is as light in color as elephant ivory and some is darker than dark chocolate. There are mineral streaks , discoloration's , permanent anciently caused watermarks , and other flaws such as cracks and fissures. Most people imagine they can obtain large quality slabs and parts of this material and are sorrowfully disappointed. The material is softer than elephant ivory and does not make good cue round stock. It is possible to obtain some parts the size of joints and butt caps but it is highly DISrecommended. Seldom will the material be found that is aged well enough to avoid significant dimensional changes once fitted into place. The material will bulge and move on you overnight. A round butt cap today can be oval tomorrow. In spite of its' age it has been freezing and thawing in a myriad of geological strata for 10,000 + years and comes to modern man with a very high moisture content. I have seen water puddles beneath FMI tusk sections that simply are sitting on the floor waiting to dry. I have cut FMI with water spitting from the blade as it cuts. Most finders want to sell it as soon as they can to get their money - when it is wet. Aged mammoth is rare and comes from old collections which are rare as well. As for applications - inlays are possible but not point stock length. Beware of elephant ivory being marketed as mammoth - I have seen vendors doing this and flying the material under various tricky names such as " mammoth tusks " , or " mammoth tusks ivory " or mammoth elephant ivory " . What may be marketed is a product wherein mammoth is used as an adjective rather than a noun and the seller has " mammoth " meaning " large " rather than mammoth meaning from the ancient woolly mammoth. I have seen websites where elephant tusks have been airbrushed to appear like a mammoth tusk. Also , many real mammoth tusks have been restored and are for sale as display specimen. Upon cutting them open one will likely find a very poor grade of material and lots of bondo. The Russians are famous for doctoring up exceedingly poor tusks to look very nice for display sales here in the USA.
From a legal standpoint the FMI material can transport in commerce on an Interstate basis with no need for any permits of any kind. FMI is viewed by most nations on this planet as being a material that is one step away from being a lump of coal. Most nations consider it a mined material and not an agricultural product. It ships in bulk internationally with UN CITES permits . The UN is concerned with it from the standpoint of it being possible to trade elephant as mammoth. Since the mammoth is extinct , there is , of course , no concern about the specie becoming endangered , etc. so all concern in its legal transport is in light of the elephant issue. One can obtain such a UN permit from the State Dept. through US F & W national office - Permits Division , Arlington , VA. - best to inquire via F&W website. Beware that any CITES permit ( acronym explained later ) from the US Govt' will cost $ 50 ( I think that is the current cost ) and will take 1 to 6 months to obtain - usually 2 months. Many small parts of mammoth ship Internationally without a CITES permit where the sender list the parts as mammoth on the customs form. I am unsure as to whether a CITES permit is actually required or if the big shippers of quantity simply obtain one just for safety sake.
This all brings us to the last type of ivory to be discussed and that is pre-ban elephant ivory ( PBE ). Elephant ivory has been the choice carving and turning material for many thousands of years. It is a very stable material with excellent beauty and considerable strength. It is one of very few materials that is white or nearly white by nature. These factors cause ivory to lend itself to being a highly desired material for many applications including cue making. The Romans considered it the most noble of all the materials on earth.
Ivory was commercially imported into the USA from colonial times through to the ban of 1989 although there were various laws enacted starting in the early 1970's that affected importation. One needs also to understand there is a significant difference between importation and bringing something into the country. Presently it is illegal to import elephant tusks but it is not illegal to bring them into the country. Importation
denotes commerce and it is illegal to commercially import elephant tusks at this time. As an individual , one is allowed to bring ivory tusks into the USA when certain conditions are met. There are three legal exemptions the UN has placed into use for the legal transport of ivory internationally by individuals. All 3 ways require a UN CITES ( Council In Trade of Endangered Species ) permit. These 3 ways are :
1) Sport Hunted Trophy : If you shoot an elephant on legal safari in Africa you can bring any and all parts back to your country of residence with the UN permit. Sweden does not allow the importation of these trophy parts . To the best of my knowledge all other nations do. The UN does not care what happens to the ivory once it goes back to a hunters' country of residence SO LONG AS IT NEVER LEAVES THAT COUNTRY. The UN leaves all other intra-national laws to be at the discrepancy of the government of the nation . The US Gov't has stated that post-ban ( UN ban of 1990 and US ban of 1989 ) ivory cannot enter commerce unless certain specific conditions exist.
2) Antique Ivory : If the ivory in the item being exported/imported is 100 years old or older , documented to be this old , and has not been worked in the last 100 years . Cue makers please note this last part of the last sentence. This ivory ( usually chess sets , pianos , & other antiques ) also needs to be accompanied by a UN permit.
3) Physical move to another nation : If you are moving from one country to another you may obtain the UN permit . This will allow you to transport the personal ivory items in your possession to your new home . This is almost impossible to obtain - they simply do not like to issue the UN permit for this application and seldom do. When they do , they ( exporting nation ) require absolute proof that you are moving permanently to another country. The US has , as far as I know , has always refused to issue the permit for this situation even when the proof has been overwhelming.
US State laws :
New York is a State that has a law regarding ivory. New York requires a permit if one is physically showing up in the State to sell ivory. I spoke with the NY Fish & Game permit department people years ago when they started this permit process and they told me I did not need a permit because I was not physically showing up in their State to sell ivory. I obtained the permit anyway , to be on the safe side , and have renewed it each year since. A few years ago a guy emailed me and bragged about his very low NY permit number - it was just under 50 . I never had the heart to tell him my permit was number one. My understanding of this State law is that if you display ivory at a show in NY State you should obtain a permit or if you make cues in NY with ivory on them you should have a permit because you are likely to sell them in NY. If you live outside NY and sell to customers in NY via shipping into the State then I understand you do not need a NY permit. NY Fish & Game agents went to a knife show in NYC about 5 years ago and confiscated many ivory handled knives. In their lack of knowledge of materials they confiscated knives with " ivory " micarta handles and would not listen to the knife makers who tried to explain the difference between man-made micarta and real ivory. The items had the word " ivory " in their description and that warranted seizure in the eyes of those agents.
US National Laws :
The national laws regarding ivory have an extensive history starting with the Lacey act , enacted over 100 years ago. The Endangered Species Act ( ESA ) of the 1970's did little to affect African ivory because African elephants are still not on the endangered species list. The Asian elephant is on the list - always has been - and ivory from Asian elephants cannot enter Interstate commerce because of that.
In 1989 President Bush signed the African Elephant Conservation Act . This is commonly known as the " Bush Ban " and does not allow for the importation of African elephant parts with a few exceptions - very similar exceptions to those found in the UN ban that came along 6 months later in 1990 and that I have already delineated above. Since the UN ban has been set into place there have been several " one-off sales " of large stores of African tusks to Asian countries as authorized and overseen by the UN CITES convention. This started in 1997 with a sale to Japan. The stipulation on the sale was that Japan must utilize the material " for domestic use only ; not for re-exportation " . The latest sale included tusks for China as well as Japan. With the Bush Ban we are not , as a country , eligible to petition the UN for importation.
So the bottom line is that the ivory I sell is pre-ban ivory. This is well aged African elephant ivory from private and museum collections found within the 50 States. When this material is gone - it is gone and I will then be out of business. I know this and the Government knows this. I am often asked how long the US supply will last and I have no way of knowing. Most of these tusks are from the 1950's through the 1980's with the vast majority being from the 1960's and early 70's when big game hunting was at its' peak. Most people who hunted elephants were wealthy people and many found it highly advantageous to donate their tusks to museums. The IRS , until 2007 , allowed for such donations to be valued at " replacement cost " . The end result was that a man or woman could hunt an elephant in 1960 for a total trip cost of under $ 1200 and donate the tusks 30 years later for a tax deductible amount of $ 60,000 . Needless to say , a lot of ivory tusks were donated to non-profit museums across America and we work with these museums to purchase them. By law , a non-profit museum can sell items donated to it.
From a cue makers standpoint you need to know that you cannot legally export a cue with ivory in it unless it is an antique cue , over 100 years in age , has not been refinished or otherwise reworked in the past 100 years and is accompanied by a UN permit ! In short , the cues you make with ivory cannot legally export. The good news is that cues with ivory cannot legally be imported and this gives you a decided advantage over foreign imports. Just as I do not have foreign competition , your ivory cues do not have foreign competition.
You should not attempt to export cues with ivory parts because it is illegal and the wrong thing to do. I do not know of any ivory items that have been caught by the US Gov’t on exportation from this country. The reason is that , by the nature of customs , a country is concerned with what is coming into their country and less concerned by a good degree with what is exiting their country. Ivory , when caught , is usually caught by the customs people at the importing countries customs-border inspection.
Likewise we find that cues that have found their way to a foreign owner and are returned for repairs , etc. are highly likely to be apprehended by US Customs. This is especially true of cues that have been sent to the USA from the Orient because our Gov’t is active in stopping an influx of ivory cues being manufactured in the Philippines and then smuggled into the USA. While looking for these volume smugglers they find even single cues that are being returned to a US maker for repairs , etc. . Shipments from the Orient travel to the USA via Alaska where agents are especially aware of what to look for. US F & Wildlife forensic research station in Eugene , Oregon has developed some fascinating detection tools whereby an inlay or any part can be harmlessly tested to determine if it is ivory and what type of ivory it is. One such tool is the utilization of a light beam that fluoresces differently depending upon the material being tested.
If a cue is sent to you from abroad for repair and is found by customs then you may be fined and penalized depending upon the situation. If the Gov’t can determine that you sent it out of the country to begin with then you are guilty of breaching the law and will likely receive a fine. If you sold the cue in America and somebody else shipped it out or took it overseas then you are not likely to be fined , etc. . If you find yourself in a situation like this where one of your cues was sent to you for repair from overseas and it is caught then it is always best to cooperate and be honest with the investigating agent. The agents are good people who are doing a good job in protecting your market from illegal ivory importation. If you are guilty of sending a cue out you are likely to receive a fine of between $ 2,000 and $ 3,000 and they will likely require proof from you of the legal origin of the ivory prior to your shipping it from the USA. In several cases we have provided written statements attesting to the legal origin of ivory that have been in such situations. If you bought your ivory from us we can provide this documentation. To date , our documents have been accepted by the authorities without need for further investigation. Be aware that if you do not cooperate with the authorities they can apply the full measure of the law. If my memory serves me correctly a violator can be fined up to $ 150,000 and receive 2 years in prison. Initial violators usually receive the small ( ? ) aforementioned fine . Repeat offenders and out-and-out smugglers are destined to receive fines and jail time in keeping with the full measure of the law.
The bottom line is that it is best to buy ivory from a respectable source that you feel will be able to provide proper documentation for the ivory he/she sells . Then sell your cue in the USA and do not ship it overseas. If one of your cues has been taken overseas do not let the current owner send it to you for repair. If a ivory cue does get caught by customs being sent to you from overseas - then by all means be honest and cooperate with the authorities.
Understand that I provide an Affidavit of Origin to any customer at no additional cost for the ivory you buy. This is sent upon request at no charge and needs to be requested when you buy your ivory. I do not send it unless you request it because it is not required by law. I suggest customers request these affidavits and file them in their office . This statement identifies the tusk your ivory came from by tusk number and shows the year the tusk legally entered the USA. It also identifies the country in Africa the ivory originated in and is signed and dated by myself. It clearly identifies your purchase of parts such as perhaps 6 ferrules , 3 joints , 3 butt caps and 50 square inches of inlay material. I developed this system of documentation in cooperation with US F& W and the Affidavit is the tip of the iceberg that is evidence of the legal standing of the ivory you receive. In keeping with other laws such as the privacy act I keep accurate records of tusk purchases that are open to the authorities for inspection at any time. Because of the privacy act the authorities are the only people who are legally allowed to inspect these records.
My grandfather started working in ivory 100 years ago and then my Dad worked in ivory his whole life. I started working in ivory when I was very young ( age 3 ) and I started buying whole tusks when I was 13. While we had always been aware of the laws surrounding ivory we started following them closely in the 1970’s as they became more specific and detailed. I have enjoyed a close relationship with US Fish & Wildlife for many decades and have worked with them on several cases involving the smuggling of raw ivory into the USA from Africa. Because I am an active buyer of ivory I have been viewed as a customer by people who are selling illegal as well as legal ivory ( pre-ban tusks within the USA ) . People approaching me with illegal ivory are turned into the authorities and in the past I have been asked by F & W to inquire of the smugglers enough questions to enable the authorities to apprehend them. In turn I have been asked by F & W to give court testimony in such cases in order to successfully prosecute smugglers. This does not happen often as there is no active , organized trade in illegal raw ivory into the USA. It is a sporadic trade conducted by a few stupid people. Since 1990 ( Ban ) I know of only 3 cases where raw ivory was smuggled into the USA and I worked with F & W in 2 of those cases to successfully apprehend those nuckleheads.
I hope this information has been helpful to you and should you have any questions please feel free to call or email. I have enjoyed a long relationship with the cue making community and have sincerely enjoyed working with many of the cue makers in America . It has always been a pleasure to be a little part in the work you are doing. My desire is for your continued success in your work and for your joy in creating beautiful pieces of art to continue. If you need ivory or just have questions feel free to call or email.
Thank you,
David Warther
330-343-1865