Relates to musical instruments containing ivory or rhinoceros horn

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill would amend Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) § 11-0535-a(3)(d) to revise the musical instrument exception to the prohibition on the trade of ivory articles to provide that 1) the ivory or rhinoceros horn must be less than 20 percent by volume of the instrument, and 2) an instrument that contains only mammoth ivory may be traded if the owner or seller documents that it was manufactured prior. to June 30, 2014.

Section 2 of the bill would amend § 7 of Chapter 326 of the Laws of 2014 to provide that any person who possessed mammoth ivory articles on the effective date of Chapter. 326 may sell, offer for sale, trade, barter, or distribute such articles through June 30, 2015, if it is documented that the articles are mammoth and were obtained prior to the effective date of Chapter. 326.

Section 3 of the bill sets forth the effective date.

Existing law

ECL § 11-0535-a, enacted by Chapter 326, became effective August 12, 2014. It prohibits the sale, offer for sale, purchase, trade, barter, or distribution of ivory articles and rhinoceros horns, except that in very limited situations DEC may issue a license under the provisions of ECL § 11-0535-a(3)(a)-(d). Pursuant to ECL § 11-0535-a(3)(d), if an ivory article or rhinoceros horn is part of a musical instrument, the item may be sold or purchased with a DEC license if the owner or seller can document that the instrument was manufactured no later than 1975. An "ivory article" is any item containing worked or raw ivory from any species of elephant or mammoth.

Statement in support

Chapter 326 enacted ECL § 11-0535-a to prohibit the trade in most articles made of or containing elephant ivory, mammoth ivory, and rhinoceros horn, and increased civil and criminal penalties for violations related to the illegal commercialization of such materials to help deter the illegal trade of ivory and rhinoceros horns in New York. It is extremely difficult to differentiate legally acquired ivory from ivory derived from elephant poaching. The U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service (USFWS) has stated that its criminal investigations and anti-smuggling efforts clearly show that legal ivory trade can serve as a cover for illegal trade and that significantly restricting ivory trade in the United States makes laundering illegal ivory into the market more difficult. These facts compel New York to allow few exceptions to the prohibitions in ECL § 11-0535-a, and only with a DEC license.

Mammoth ivory is included within the definition of ivory article in ECL § 11-0535-a because it is difficult to distinguish from elephant ivory. Although there are methods for identifying mammoth, identification is not possible with the naked eye; a carved ivory object must be examined by a trained scientist to obtain a positive identification. As such, continuing to allow trade in mammoth as a substitute for elephant ivory would work against efforts to stop the illegal trade of ivory articles in the State. While it essential to prohibit. the trade of mammoth ivory to deter the illegal ivory trade within New York, it is important that persons who owned and traded in mammoth ivory prior to enactment of ECL § 11-0535-a be treated equitably.

ECL § 11-0535-a(3)(d) currently provides that a musical instrument must have been manufactured prior to 1975 to qualify for the exception to the trade prohibition; this is to ensure that if the item contains elephant ivory, the ivory was legally acquired. This bill would revise this requirement to provide that an instrument containing only mammoth ivory would qualify for the exception if the owner or seller could document that it was manufactured prior to June 30, 2014. In addition, Chapter 326 provides that any person who had a license allowing the sale of elephant ivory articles or rhinoceros horn prior to the effective date of the chapter may sell the articles listed on the license until the license expires. Mammoth ivory was not previously regulated, and licenses were not required to trade in mammoth ivory. This bill would provide that any person who obtained mammoth ivory prior to the effective date of Chapter 326 could continue to sell that ivory until June 30, 2015, thereby providing persons an opportunity to sell mammoth items that were lawfully obtained.

Budget implications

None.

Effective date

The bill would take effect immediately, and be deemed to have been in full force and effect on the same date and in the same manner as Chapter 326 of the Laws of 2014 took effect.