The latest regulatory overreach: U.S. Fish and Wildlife to enforce ivory agenda

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On June 26 countless antiques, musical instruments and other objects made from ivory or decorated with it will be effectively banned by the federal government from sale or trade within the U.S. Coupled with tough new international import-export restrictions, the value of these objects, once in the hundreds of millions of dollars, will evaporate.

The expressed aim of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is to discourage the ivory trade and protect endangered African elephants, though it is difficult to discern how that effort is aided by attacking, say, collectors of Victorian or Art Deco treasures.

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The message is clear to those who possess ivory-detailed objects including clarinets, canes, pistols, crucifixes, timepieces, chess sets, cameos, guitars, mahjong sets, pianos or furniture: You own it, you're stuck with it. The objects shortly will be worthless and uninsurable by government decree, and the IRS is unlikely to allow you to write it off as an investment loss, no matter how much you or your family paid for it—a few hundred dollars at an estate sale or $20,000 at Christie's.

The impracticality of monitoring every flea market, auction and estate sale in the country will force the Fish and Wildlife Service to selectively enforce the new regulations. Worse, many buyers and sellers—from hobbyists to professionals—may be unaware that they will be vulnerable to confiscation, fines and arrest for violating the new regulations

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Museums and musicians are concerned that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's stricter rules on the transport of items containing elephant ivory are inflicting unintended complications on the music community.

The new strategy for fighting trafficking through enforcement, approved by President Barack Obama in February, puts a near complete ban on the commercial trade of elephant ivory.

Musicians and collectors say the rules will limit their ability to travel abroad with antique and vintage instruments they acquired decades ago, and could put them risk of fines and the possible seizure of their instruments.

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Earlier this month, U.S. customs agents at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport refused clearance for seven ivory-tipped violin bows owned by members of the Budapest Festival Orchestra because the items lacked proper permits. The musicians used borrowed bows for their performances, and their own were eventually released and sent back to Hungary after a $525 fine was paid.

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