Ivory raids

Twenty armed agents emerged from their discreet black van and descended on the target.

It must have been weeks, if not months in the planning. They closed in quietly and made their move. It was not a special ops team parachuting into Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan, but a bunch of heavily-armed, intimidating officers from the California Department of Fish & Game storming into the Slawinski Auction Company Preview on February 19^th. They seized 40 lots of antique ivory worth about $150,000 and left everybody shaken and confused. “That night they showed up, they covered the parking lot,” said Bob Slawinski, who runs the company with his son, Rob. “We probably had 20 agents here. There was no need for that level of intimidation. They were uniformed and armed to the teeth. I have some young girls working here, and those kids were just shaking.” The Department of Fish & Game denied that it was so extreme, and spokesman Patrick Foy even laughed at the notion that they could even get that many guys together. “I doubt we’re able to get 25 uniformed and armed officers together in this state at one time. That’s a little over the top.” Whether it was a SWAT team of 20 or 25 that actually descended on the auction house, it was certainly alarming, and it was not isolated. What happened to the Slawinskis has been happening all over California. In fact, it appears that the Department of Fish & Games has been staking out antique malls, shows and auctions by sending out undercover officers in advance, and then unexpectedly descending and seizing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ivory and other wildlife-related items, and on top of that, issuing fines.

Rosie Destories (Modern day Paul Revere)

It was the sister of  Rob Slawinski, Rosie DeStories that acted as the Paul Revere of the antique world, alerting important players that the ivory rules had changed and no one was safe from being investigated and ultimately raided. On February 20^th, Rosie, co-owner of Fairfield Auction in Monroe, Connecticut, sent out an email warning. DeStories wrote: “The state of California Department of Fish & Game is actively raiding auction houses and antique shows, confiscating ivory. It is now illegal to sell or have any intent to sell ANY IVORY within the state of California or to sell to any bidders within the state of California regardless of the age of the ivory. The fine is a minimum if $1,000 per violation and a maximum up to $5,000 per violation.” Upon further research it seems that one can also face “imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six months, or both that fine and imprisonment for each violation.” While Rosie DeStories has put considerable time and effort in scrutinizing this new law, it is no easy feat. Going to the Fish & Game website is confusing and they are slower than an endangered tortoise to return emails or phone calls. Most in the antique industry believed that as long as the ivory was over 100 years old, and there was documentation to prove its age, then it could be owned, bought and sold in the state.

Jack DeStories Posted the law on Frank!'s Facebook page

According to Rosie’s husband, Jack DeStories, the laws have recently changed and if there was any announcement, it was as quiet as an ocelot’s purr. He addressed concerned antique dealers on Frank’s Facebook wall: “In California, all earlier Federal statutes have been overridden by a recent statute banning the sale of all elephant parts—period and regardless of age. That includes old pianos with ivory keys, many pool cues, violins and portrait miniatures painted on ivory. It also means selling an 18^th century chest of drawers with ivory escutcheons is now illegal.” There may be people all along who have been against the use of ivory in big ways, like a huge carved elephant tusk. But now it seems that any use of ivory, from a tiny sliver on a piece of sterling silver flatware, to the keys on a piano, can place almost anybody in danger of violating this new law. According to Jack, outside of California there is a distinction between Asian and African elephant ivory. Asian must be 100 years old, and African must pre-date the CITES law, which was established in 1989. But, in California it looks like all ivory is treated the same, and just about all wildlife parts—period. Facebook and other social media has been a great tool in spreading the word about these recent search and seizures. T.C. Leary, an Oceanside jewelry dealer who is a regular on Facebook was the first to call Frank! about the ivory raids, but it was certified appraiser Barbara Pickett that was the first to comment about it on Facebook. She researched the penal codes as well the Federal Registry of the Secretary of the Interior to find out exactly what was banned and when. Shauna Novotny, owner of Novotny’s on Colorado in Pasadena, asked Frank! to pursue the story after she heard fragments of horror stories about the raids. Frank! immediately alerted the Appraisers National Association (ANA) so that they could get the word out through their members. Robert Sommers has made the lead story on his blog, Blue Heron Blast, about the ivory raids and its dangerous implications. Jo Addie, an Illinois dealer in Art Nouveau jewelry and accessories, spends part of the year setting up at antique shows in California. Her next trip was prepped for November and she is not certain about how this will affect her trip out west. She forwarded an email she received from dealer Anne Slater, a specialist in tole painted trays who is a regular at most of the high end antique shows, including the Bustamante and Calendar Shows. Slater sent a joint email to Michael Grimes of Calendar Shows, and Nancy Johnson of Hillsborough, to alert them of several raids at local venues. At one prominent Southern California mall, it became clear that these undercover agents were not just shopping for ivory but for almost anything wildlife related. Slater wrote: “What they were looking for was ivory (regardless of age), tortoiseshell, stuffed birds ie. ducks, geese, sea turtles, stuffed animal heads, etc. Having finally announced who they were, they confiscated what they found. They got the names and addresses of the dealers who owned the items and they will be fined $250 each. Apparently having these items for sale is a felony and there could be jail time (not verified). On February 5^th, agents from the California Department of Fish & Game came into the Alameda Point Antiques Faire and confiscated ivory pieces from two of the show’s vendors. They were issued misdemeanor citations and were told to appear in court on April 12^th to face charges. A mounted deer head was also seized. The portion of the law identifying the species lists more than just elephants. Whales, dolphins, porpoises and polar bears are also included. The following is the first full paragraph of the relevant criminal code: California Penal Code Section 653o (a)   It is unlawful to import into this state for commercial purposes, to possess with intent to sell, or to sell within the state, the dead body, ore any part or product thereof, of any polar bear, leopard, ocelot, tiger, cheetah, jaguar, sable antelope, wolf (Canibus Lupus), zebra, whale, cobra, python, sea turtle, colobus monkey, kangaroo, vicuna, sea otter, free-roaming ferel horse, dolphin or porpoise, Spanish lynx, or elephant.   Crocodiles, alligators, and seals are covered in subsequent paragraphs. The next section, Penal Code Section 653p, repeats some of 653o, makes possession illegal, and identifies the root source of the law: It is unlawful to possess with the intent to sell, or to sell, within the state, the dead body, or any part or product thereof, of any species or subspecies of any fish, bird, mammal, amphibian, reptile, mollusk, invertebrate, or plant, the importation of which is illegal under the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 and subsequent amendments, or under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, or which is listed in the Federal Register by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the above acts. There are thousands of objects that contain ivory from the teeth of endangered species. All whales, including beluga, blue, bowhead, finback, humpback, killer, North Atlantic right, sei, and sperm are listed as endangered in the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Similarly, all elephants are listed on the endangered species list. Since almost all ivory found on antique objects comes from elephants or whales, anything containing ivory is illegal to sell in California. It seems that the portion regarding the “intent to sell” became operative on January 1, 2011, but little fuss was made of the major change until the beginning of 2012. Ebay is handling the new ban by finding a loophole. According to Diana Sanders Cinamon, sellers on the auction site now refer to it as “ox bone.” While is it is now illegal to sell ivory in California, it is legal to possess it, which harkens back to the days of Prohibition. It was illegal to manufacture, transport or sell booze, but the 18^th amendment did not mention the actual drinking of liquor. Since Prohibition went into effect a full year after the 18^th Amendment’s ratification, many people bought cases of then-legal alcohol and stored them for personal use. This new law seems to target the antique industry and suggests that it actually supports the slaughter of elephants. The business has always treaded lightly in the area of ivory and is self-regulating. Collectors of antique ivory want just that—antique pieces, and will not buy or handle new ivory that has been recently acquired. It is customers that have been holding dealers to high standards. Since this new law targets all ivory, it makes it seem that something nefarious has been going on in the world of antique ivory. Many dealers wonder what this new law will mean regarding the price of ivory. With a certain number of seizures the supply has been cut down a bit, but since it is now illegal to sell ivory in California, there is no longer a local market. Will this force the prices up or down? What will become of all these seized items is question on the minds of many that have already been affected, and those that fear they may be affected. “There is apparently some confusion over the ivory because they did not confiscate the items that they found,” said Slater regarding the raid at a Southern California antique mall. “They tagged them, left them in the cases and were told that they could not be removed or sold until the store was notified.” Slater mentioned that the Department of Fish & Game may be on a mission since they also raided Alameda Point and Little Paris, a large Los Angeles area antique mall. The Solvang Antique Center was also hit. Dealers everywhere are taking action. A veteran Collector’s Conference attendee at a Northern San Diego County Mall was advised to remove everything that might be associated with ivory from her booth as quickly as possible, in case they were invaded next. Although the Department of Fish & Game have been strong in enforcement, they were lax in alerting those affected that such critical changes in the law had been made, leaving one to wonder if this was just a way for the state to raise money and not so much to protect the poor elephants.