Update: This bill failed to pass in 2015.
Bill Description:
Prohibits any person from selling, offering for sale, purchasing, trading, bartering, or distributing ivory or rhinoceros horn. Ivory is defined as the tusk from an elephant or mammoth.[teaserbreak]
Exemptions:
Unless prohibited by federal law, the Department of Natural Resources may issue a permit for distribution if the ivory/horn is…
• Part of an antique and less than 20% by volume, and the owner or seller has documentation showing it to be at least 100 years old
• For educational or scientific purposes
• Going to a legal beneficiary of an estate
• Part of a musical instrument, and the owner or seller has documentation showing it was made no later than 1975
Background:
African elephants are nearing extinction due to the high price of ivory and consumer demand. An average of 96 elephants are slaughtered daily by poachers, and over 100,000 have been killed in the past 3 years. Read more about the horrific ivory trade here.
Meanwhile, rhinos are killed for their horns, which are believed to have medicinal powers in parts of Asia. This market is fueling the slaughter of more than 1,000 rhinos per year. Only 25,000 black and white rhinos remain across all of Africa, and they could become extinct in the wild in as little as 12 years.
The U.S. is the second largest ivory market in the world, after China, and also a significant destination for rhino horn. Legislation banning the trade in these products is aimed at reducing the demand.
Take Action:
Iowa residents, contact your state senator and urge him or her to support this legislation!
Read the full text and follow its progress here.