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                        <h1>More on the California Ban on Selling Ivory</h1>
<div>
                        </div>
<div>by David Hewett</div>
<div>In the April 2012 issue, on <a target="_blank" href="http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/stories/index.html?id=3069">page 21-A</a>,
we noted the effect that the newly enforced California ban on ivory
sales has had on the marketplace. After learning that one auction house
had all its lots containing ivory seized (worth approximately $150,000),
Bonhams withdrew over 100 lots of ivory from a March 13 sale of Asian
decorative arts in San Francisco.</div>
<div>Bonhams' public relations
spokesperson for the San Francisco branch, Joalien Johnson, described
the rationale behind its decision: "We withdrew the ivories from our
March decorative sale proactively. We sought clarification from the
state, but when it became apparent that such guidance was not
forthcoming quickly, and our preview was approaching, we elected to
withdraw the ivory lots in the interests of our clients."</div>
<div>It was a
voluntary decision on Bonhams' part, she said, not one made under
pressure from the state. "We've contacted the clients and informed them
that we're deferring sales of their items in California until we get
more clarification," Johnson noted. Bonhams needs to know how the state
is currently interpreting the California statutory ban, she said.</div>
<div>She
also noted that Bonhams was better placed than local auction houses to
handle a ban on certain categories of antiques. "As an international
auction house with galleries in the major markets, Bonhams has other
options for selling this category of material, should it choose to."</div>
<div>The
California statute covers all parts of endangered species subjects,
including the antique articles that regularly appear in sales of
American maritime and whaling material. When we asked about those
categories, Johnson said, "Our staff is mindful of the various rules and
regulations that apply to the broader category of ivory material."</div>
<div>Patrick
Foy, the spokesperson for the Enforcement Division of the California
Department of Fish and Game, was less than happy about the way his
department was depicted in the April report. About the allegation from
Bob Slawinski that 25 uniformed and armed agents conducted the raid on
Slawinski's auction house on February 18, Foy said tersely, "It didn't
happen that way."</div>
<div>As for their being uniformed and armed, Foy
explained, "We are uniformed and armed every day; I'm uniformed and
armed while I'm talking to you. When we check somebody's fishing license
we're uniformed and armed. I don't want people to think that we do
anything differently for these inspections [for contraband ivory]."</div>
<div>There
has been some discussion among California sellers that plans were
underway to re-auction the seized ivory for the benefit of the fish and
game department.</div>
<div>Foy snorted in disbelief when asked for comment.
"Under no circumstances are we going to auction that material," he said
and added emphatically, "No, fish and game is not going to auction it
off.</div>
<div>"It's the property of the court," he explained, "not fish and
game. Any evidence seized in a crime investigation becomes the property
of the court. A judge decides what to do with it. What usually happens
is, the judge gives us an order for destruction of the seized material.
It <i>will</i> be destroyed if the court tells us to do so."</div>
<div>There
are a number of California laws pertaining to the handling of seized
material. California Penal Code 1536 reads: "All property or things
taken on a warrant must be retained by the officer in his custody,
subject to the order of the court to which he is required to return the
proceedings before him, or of any other court in which the offense in
respect to which the property or things taken is triable."</div>
<div>Other
sections of the penal code direct that no employee's pay can be tied to
the number or value of seizures made by that officer. California Penal
Code 11469b reads: "No prosecutor's or sworn law enforcement officer's
employment or salary shall be made to depend upon the level of seizures
or forfeitures he or she achieves."</div>
<div>What triggers a seizure?
Patrick Foy had an easy answer for that question. "If it's sitting in a
case with a price tag on it, it is a violation. Possession with intent
to sell is the way the law is written.</div>
<div>"I have not heard of any whale ivory being seized," Foy cautioned, "but remember, it does fall within that section of the law."</div>
<div>The
laws pertaining to sales of ivory (California Penal Code Sections 653o
and p) are clearly written and explicit. Offering to sell ivory or
putting a price tag on anything containing ivory, or part of any
creature on the endangered species list, is illegal in California.</div>
<div>You
can disagree with the method California chose to accomplish that task,
but the time to halt the legislation has passed. As Patrick Foy pointed
out, "We're not trying to put antiques dealers out of work; we're only
trying to stem the trade in wildlife parts."</div>
<div>As far as enforcement
officials are concerned, if you disobey the law and they catch you,
your ivory, antique or not, will be seized and possibly destroyed.</div>
<hr align="LEFT" width="185">Originally published in the May 2012 issue of <i>Maine Antique Digest</i>. © 2012 Maine Antique Digest<br>
                        
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