Victor a 68 year old art dealer (I really don’t think he knows the meaning of art) has been arrested for smuggling a TONNE of African ivory into the US for sale at his Philadelphia store.
He thought he would fool the system and get the smuggler to make the ‘new’ ivory look old since under the US law, Ivory more than 100 years old can be sold can be LEGALLY imported into the US.
Now, if elephants are protected under the 1975 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) why have this clause ? By doing what Victor did(making the new product look old), so many elephants must have been killed/injured in the process. And yet they are protected under the 1975 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
The law should be NO. NO to ivory, NO to rhino horns, NO to polar bear fur, NO to seal skin, NO to anything animal skin/part related no matter how old. So now if the answer is NO, policing is so much easier. Of-course not everyone working in the field will be trust worthy and honest since back handers /bribery will always be accepted for those who have NO morales nor scruples.
But lets tidy up the law so NO misinterpretations. AND make the punishment harsher, for Victor, imprisonment for 25years and a hefty fine where he looses his business. For the smuggler, imprisonment for sure, but then there will always be another to take his/her place….
Animals Do Have A Voice Blog 