by David Hewett
California recently began to strictly enforce a much-amended state law, and it has already caused dealers and auctioneers much grief.
On Sunday, February 5, a dealer couple in their 60’s set up at an outdoor flea market. A visitor to their booth picked up an item and asked, “What’s this made of?” “It’s ivory,” the man answered.
Wrong answer. The customer flashed his badge and identified himself as an agent with the California Department of Fish and Game. He then proceeded to seize all eight of the pieces in the booth that contained ivory. He cited the couple for committing a misdemeanor and gave them a court appearance date of April 12. The man estimated his loss at between $1500 and $2000. He told M.A.D. that another dealer had lost upward of $10,000 worth of material.
That dealer, like others who spoke with us, was afraid of publicity. He said he’d heard we were working on a report about the seizures, and that’s why he’d made the cold call to us. He refused to give his name or even the location of the seizure. The reason? “People are saying if you make a stink about it or get your name in the papers, they could sic the IRS on you or make it a federal case,” he said. “My wife is a schoolteacher. They could change the misdemeanor charge to a felony, and then she’d be out of a job.”
That couple’s loss is but a fraction compared to what the owners of Slawinski Auction Company suffered. The Scotts Valley, California, firm was raided on February 18 by agents enforcing the new law. When the agents left, they took all the ivory lots with them—ivory worth approximately $150,000.
Ivory Warning From Collector magazine 