In this Wednesday, June 18, 2014, photo, Arian Sheets, curator of stringed instruments for the National Music Museum, points to some ivory ornamentation on a 17th century Italian harpsichord, at the museum in Vermillion, S.D.VERMILLION, S.D. – 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.
“We’ve kind of been caught up in the clampdown that’s designed to prevent the extinction of these populations, but we’re not really the ones causing the problem,” said Arian Sheets, curator of stringed instruments for the National Music Museum in Vermillion.
The order from agency director Daniel Ashe initially allowed the noncommercial import of worked elephant ivory that was legally acquired and removed from the wild prior to February 26, 1976, and has not been sold since then. The agency eased the rule slightly in May, keeping the 1976 acquisition date but extending the instrument sale date to February 25, 2014.