Bill Description:
Prohibits any person from selling, offering to sell, purchasing, or possessing with intent to sell ivory or rhinoceros horn. Ivory is defined the tooth or tusk from any species of elephant, hippopotamus, mammoth, narwhal, walrus, or whale.[teaserbreak]
Exemptions:.
• Activity expressly authorized by federal license or permit.
• An employee or agent of the federal or state government undertaking any law enforcement activity pursuant to federal or state law.
• Ivory that is part of an antique (not less than 100 years old), provided that:
- The item is not made primarily of ivory
- That the item does not derive its primary value from the ivory
- The antique status is established with documentation
- The total volume of the ivory component is less than 20% of the item
- The ivory is not raw
- If it is elephant ivory, it must have been removed from the wild prior to February 26, 1976.
• A musical instrument that was made prior to February 26, 1976.
• Transferring possession of ivory or rhino horn to a legal beneficiary of an estate, trust, or other inheritance.
• Purchase or sale of ivory or horn by a bona fide educational or scientific institution or museum.
Background:
African elephants are in grave danger due to the high price of ivory and consumer demand. An average of 96 elephants are slaughtered daily by poachers, and over 146,000 have been killed since January, 2012. 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. ports are major destination for ivory and rhino horn, and Connecticut plays a role in this market. Legislation banning the trade in these products will reduce the demand, and therefore reduce the killing.
Take Action:
Connecticut residents, contact your state representative and urge him or her to support this legislation!
Read the full text and follow its progress here.