MANHATTAN (CN) — New York state governs antique ivory sales more strictly than the federal government does. The future of those protections is in the hands of a panel of appellate judges.
“Before the enactment of the state ivory law,” Grace X. Zhou, an assistant state solicitor general, said Friday, arguing before the Second Circuit. “New York was a hub for trade in ivory, contributing to the demand in ivory.”
New York adopted the law at issue in 2014, largely banning the sale of ivory antiques within state borders. Only pieces that are at least 100 years old and contain less than 20% ivory are legal to sell here though with proper permits dealers in the Empire State can still sell ivory antiques to out-of-state buyers, online or by catalog for instance.
Buyers who come into the state to make the purchase, however, run afoul of the law, and shops can’t display illicit ivory antiques in the windows or on their shelves.
As the state and the Humane Society of the United States see it, the Endangered Species Act created a floor for protections, but states are welcome to tighten up the rules on their own turf.
“The truth is that the sale of these parts, even antique parts, increases the commodification of ivory sales in a way that contributes to the current commodification of these animals,” Ralph Henry, director of litigation at the Humane Society, said in an interview this afternoon.
Worldwide, the ivory trade is worth roughly $23 billion per year, and the Natural Resources Defense Council estimates More than a thousand rhinos and tens of thousands of elephants are killed each year so that poachers can sell the ivory from their horns to designers making jewelry, furniture and other decorations. Henry says there’s good reason for New York to take action.
“It's a pretty booming market, even compared to other states," he noted. In 2017, an antique shop raid in New York City resulted in authorities confiscating 130 illegal ivory items worth at least $25,000.
“My clients feel that states, including the state of New York, have an important role to play in supplementing federal laws,” Henry said. “I think we'll have a part we can play in reducing the commodification in endangered species.”
The statute faces a challenge, however, from the Art and Antique Dealers League of America and the National Antique and Art Dealers Association of America. They say federal law preempts the state from adopting more rigorous standards, and that the display-restricting rules violate the First Amendment. After a federal judge dismissed their preemption claim, the groups are eyeing a reversal from the Second Circuit.





