Endangered species: ivory

The art and antiques trade is calling on the government to re-think its planned restrictions on the sale of antique items containing small amounts of elephant ivory.

Roland Arkell and Noelle McElhatton on what the new ivory law could mean for art and antiques.

The general parameters of the government’s ivory ban, on the cards for years, are finally clear. As always with issues of CITES, the devil will be in the detail. Though the trade feels despondent in the face of the ban, a small concession on the currently very narrow 'de minimis' rule will make the ban a lot more manageable.

The new, as yet unnamed law will allow for narrow exemptions to the ban. These comprise:

MADAM – Defra’s findings outlined in the post-consultation document include an extraordinarily impractical provision for the ‘de minimis’ exemption – requiring registration (with an as yet unspecified fee) of all objects with an ivory content below 10% created before 1947.

The Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is expected to publish a response to the ivory ban consultation this month.

MADAM – I was open-mouthed in disbelief to see again opinion discussed as fact when the ivory issue was aired on national television (ATG No 2334).

MADAM – I have pieces of antique elephant tusk ivory that I collected unconcerned about the (now well-known) conservation problems.

Leaders of four African countries have called on the UK and the EU to ban the trade in antique ivory to help stop elephant poaching.

William George, an online-only auctioneer which ceased trading antique ivory in 2017, is setting up a group called Auctioneers Against Ivory for auctioneers considering their own antique ivory strategies.

MADAM – Last week (ATG No 2332) you published a response from lobby group Two Million Tusks to my suggestion that there should be a TV programme on the subject of ivory.

MADAM – We write in response to the letter written by Daniel Fearon suggesting a special BBC Antiques Roadshow programme to discuss/ showcase objects solely made of, or incorporating ivory (ATG No 2330).

MADAM – Gavin Littaur’s comment (Letters, ATG No 2329) that “BAMF’s definition of ‘museum quality’ is exceedingly unhelpful” pulls its punches too much.

MADAM – The proper aim of all right-minded persons is to end ivory poaching. The irrelevant ‘ivory bill’ will not help.

MADAM – No amount of banning the sale of the millions of items containing antique ivory will stop the wholesale slaughter of elephants in Africa.

MADAM – Are people aware of the compensation that the UK Government paid out when the handgun ban came into force after the Dunblane massacre in 1996?

MADAM – Although I think that the BADA certification programme goes some way to pacifying the waters, the conservationists have very strong support even if they are blind to the past as seen in the story about wildlife charity Born Free launching an ivory ‘amnesty’ (ATG No 2329).