Ivory bill in Congress

[Hugh]

I received this email today from David Warther, Ivory dealer:




Hello everyone,



It’s out! The US Senate recently came out with Senate Bill S1769 which is basically the same as House Bill HR 697, though not exactly the same. But both houses will need to vote on it.



Both these bills will insure that we keep our rights to have and sell our legal pre-ban ivory, whether it is in tusk form, antiques, musical instruments, knives, pool cues, art or whatever. It will also focus the US efforts where the help is needed in Africa, track down the offending countries and give us strength to sanction those countries. In other words, it attacks the heart of the problem, instead of our rights to a legal commodity. It has real teeth, not a 'feel good’ but do nothing approach that the wildlife groups are going for.



The Senate bill will need bi-partisan support, since the Republican numbers are not enough to get it through. So call and send letters to ALL your senators!! Click on the blue link seen below, and insert your info, The EPA letter will be there ready for you to send. I have filled out this easy form and ask that you do the same to protect our rights as Americans to buy and sell pre-ban antique material.



Image removed by sender.

Senate Bill Would Protect Ivory Owners and African Elephants

Senators Daines (R-MT) and Alexander (R-TN) introduced S 1769, the African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act of 2015. Companion legislation to HR 697 in the House of Representatives, this bill would end the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s unilateral moratorium on the importation, exportation and sale of lawfully possessed ivory. It also strengthens measures to stop elephant poaching in Africa and punishes countries that smuggle illicit ivory. Write To Your Senators asking them to co-sponsor this bill.

The legislation would allow:

Lawfully possessed, raw or worked ivory to be imported or exported, purchased or sold for museum displays and personal use;
The Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to place a U.S. Fish and Wildlife law enforcement officer in each African country with significant elephant populations;
The Secretary of the Interior to certify any country found to be a significant transit or destination point under the Pelly Amendment to the Fishermen’s Protective Act;
The continued importation of sport-hunted elephant trophies from populations listed on Appendix II of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species;
For the reauthorization of appropriations of not more than $5 million for each of the years 2016-2020, and for these funds to be prioritized for projects designed to facilitate the acquisition of equipment and training of wildlife officials in ivory producing countries for anti-poaching efforts.
The bill would prevent USFWS from promulgating or enforcing regulations designed to criminalize ownership or commercial use of African elephant ivory that has been legally imported into the United States. It would do away with impossible documentation requirements imposed by USFWS Director’s Order 210, and it would shift the burden of proof that ivory was illegally imported back to the government.

At the same time, this bill would strengthen USFWS’s ability to stop elephant poaching in Africa. Instead of punishing innocent Americans with a domestic ivory ban, an absurdly indirect attempt to change attitudes in China about illicit ivory, this bill focuses on fighting poachers in Africa to save elephants. The bill authorizes placement of USFWS law enforcement officers in each African elephant range country. That officer would assist local wildlife rangers protect African elephants and help apprehend those who illegally kill or assist in the illegal killing of African elephants.

To further protect elephants and punish countries that import poached ivory, the bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to certify to the President any country that, directly or indirectly, is a significant transit or destination point for illegal ivory trade. Doing so would trigger other appropriate diplomatic and legal responses that pressure law breaking countries to stop violating international law and fueling the African elephant poaching problem. The bill also requires the secretary to prioritize projects in support of this law in the Secretary’s annual budget.

Ask your senators to support S 1769 by cosponsoring this bill! Write To Your Senators The more Senators who co-sponsor and support this bill, the more likely it is that the bill will be packaged with other legislation and become law.







If anyone would like to NOT receive these notices, just drop me a line.



Please forward this to anyone you would like and consider making a donation to the Elephant Protection Association.





Sincerely ,



David Warther

2561 Crestview Dr. NW

Dover , Ohio

44622



Phone : 330-343-1865