U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service U.S. Ivory Crush Questions & Answers

Why is the United States destroying Won’t destroying this ivory make elephant elephant ivory? ivory rarer, thus driving up the cost and We want to send a clear message that creating a greater incentive for poaching? the United States will not tolerate As we explained above, this ivory would ivory trafficking and the toll it is taking never be made available to the market. on elephant populations, particularly Its destruction has no impact on the in Africa. The United States believes overall supply and does not create any that it is important to destroy ivory incentive for poaching. By demonstrating seized as a result of law enforcement our commitment to combat poaching and investigations and at international ports illegal trade, and to arrest and prosecute of entry because elephant poaching in people who engage in these activities, Africa is at its worst in decades and we we are providing a strong disincentive to are committed to protecting elephants poachers and wildlife traffickers. from extinction. Destroying this ivory tells criminals who engage in poaching Why did the Service decide to crush the and trafficking that the United States will ivory instead of burning it? take all available measures to disrupt and Ivory is very resistant to burning, and prosecute those who prey on and profit so typically still requires crushing to from the deaths of these magnificent break it down into pieces small enough animals. to be of no commercial value. Crushing USFWS from the beginning is thus more efficient Has the U.S. Government ever done this Pallet of seized raw ivory for destroying ivory. Crushing also before? of ivory in 1989 and again in 2011, as eliminates air quality concerns and fire No. The Fish and Wildlife Service has did Gabon in 2012. Both countries hold risks that could be associated with an stored contraband ivory at the National large populations of elephants that are ivory “burn.” Wildlife Property Repository and other vulnerable to poaching. appropriate facilities. The agency has In the future, will the Service destroy never before destroyed large quantities Why doesn’t the Service sell the ivory? forfeited ivory? of ivory. As a matter of principle and policy, the Yes. However, the Service will retain Service does not sell confiscated wildlife small amounts of ivory for use in Why wasn’t the ivory destroyed when it was derived from endangered and threatened conservation outreach and education as seized? species. Illegal ivory trade is driving a well as ivory needed for investigative Pieces of elephant ivory and other seized dramatic increase in African elephant and forensic purposes and for training wildlife are maintained as evidence until poaching, threatening the very existence our wildlife law enforcement officers, criminal and civil cases are concluded. of this species. It is extremely difficult our wildlife detector dogs, and officers Once cases are resolved, the Service to differentiate legally acquired ivory, with our partner agencies (such as U.S. uses items that are examples of illegal such as ivory imported in the 1970s, from Customs and Border Protection). wildlife trade for educational purposes ivory derived from elephant poaching. and for training our law enforcement Our criminal investigations and anti- About the Ivory officers. Over the past 25 years, we have smuggling efforts have clearly shown accumulated far more elephant ivory that legal ivory trade can serve as a cover How much elephant ivory will be destroyed? than we can use for these purposes and for illegal trade. Therefore, selling the The Service will destroy nearly six tons decided to destroy this material as a ivory stockpile and allowing it to enter of African and Asian elephant ivory. The demonstration of our commitment to the marketplace could contribute to ivory to be destroyed includes full tusks, combating wildlife trafficking. increased elephant poaching and carved tusks, and hundreds of smaller stimulate even more consumer demand carvings and other objects. Have other countries destroyed ivory? for ivory. Yes. The Philippines (which like the How did the Service acquire this ivory? United States represents a market for The ivory to be crushed was seized illegally acquired elephant ivory) did so in and then abandoned or forfeited to June 2013. Kenya burned large quantities the Service as a result of its criminal investigations and anti-smuggling efforts at the nation’s ports of entry. Are there any exceptions? Yes. At present, U.S. laws and Over what time period was this ivory regulations accommodate the following: accumulated? • The import of unworked African Most of this ivory was seized by elephant ivory (i.e., raw tusks) as Service law enforcement officers from part of a lawfully taken sport-hunted the late-1980s to the present. trophy for which appropriate CITES permits are presented What types of crimes were committed in connection with these seizures? • The import and export (including Some of the ivory was smuggled into for commercial purposes) of the United States in large quantities; worked African elephant ivory some was also intercepted on its way that meets the requirements for an out of the country or as it was being “antique” under the ESA (CITES unlawfully sold in interstate commerce. document required) Some arrived in the United States • Export (including commercial) without the appropriate Convention of ivory that qualifies as on International Trade in Endangered “pre-Act” under the ESA and “pre- Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Convention” under CITES (CITES) permits or was brought • Sale within the United States of back by travelers who did not know African elephant ivory lawfully (or did not follow) wildlife laws and imported into the U.S. as “antique” regulations. under the ESA or before the 1989 import moratorium under the Laws violated in connection with the African Elephant Conservation ivory seizures include the Endangered Act Species Act (which implements CITES • Sale of legally acquired African in the United States), the African elephant ivory within the United Elephant Conservation Act, and the States unless restricted by Lacey Act. “use after import” limitations African Elephant associated with items imported Nick Turland CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 CC BY-NC-ND Nick Turland How many dead elephants does this after the listing of the species AZA and its member institutions (which amount of ivory represent? under CITES or unless prohibited Conservatively, we would estimate that reach over 180 million visitors each year under State law this ivory represents at least a couple and another 8 million online), we hope to raise massive public awareness about thousand elephants. Given the current elephant poaching the African elephant poaching crisis crisis, will the United States consider and illegal ivory trade and engage the Could it represent more elephants than that? additional protections? Yes, that’s possible. We have a large American people in our efforts to stop We are evaluating all available number of carvings, jewelry and other that trade. legislative and regulatory options small items, which makes estimating to strengthen U.S. controls on ivory difficult. About Elephants trade, particularly for ivory already in the United States. We are also How are African elephants protected? What is the value of this ivory? The African elephant is listed as working closely with the Presidential Because this ivory was seized in threatened under the U.S. Endangered Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking to connection with violations of U.S. Species Act (ESA) and is also protected address protections for elephants and conservation laws and regulations, it under the African Elephant Conservation other endangered species. cannot be legally sold in the United Act. Nations across the world regulate States. We consider it to be contraband trade in this species under CITES. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that has no market value. Office of Law Enforcement Under these U.S. laws, it is generally 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS: LE-3000 What will be done with the ivory once it is illegal to: Arlington, VA 22203 destroyed? • Import or export African elephant e-mail: [email protected] The Service is working with the ivory for primarily commercial http://www.fws.gov/le/ Association of Zoos and Aquariums to purposes develop a creative and informative use of • Import or export it for other November 2013 the crushed ivory. Our goal is to educate purposes without CITES documents the public about the threats that poaching • Buy or sell unlawfully imported @USFWSInternatl and illegal trade pose to elephants and African elephant ivory in interstate other at-risk species. By partnering with commerce Like us on Facebook USFWS_International Affairs