Q&A on Federal Ivory Bans vs. State Ivory Bans

A question you may have asked:

Why do we need State and Local laws to ban ivory and rhino horn if there are already federal laws in place?

There has been confusion regarding federal law on ivory and rhino horn sales, trafficking, and smuggling. It seems that most people think that the current federal law under the Fish & Wildlife Service (F&WS) is sufficient to curtail the trade of wildlife parts.

In reality, it does not.

Local and State law enforcement to curb the trafficking of these wildlife parts must happen to enforce the federal law and federal only applies if these wildlife parts transact between state borders. However, state and local laws must be in the books to do so to enforce the law within state borders. Therefore, many state legislators concerned about this issue has proposed these laws. They must be passed to make the ban enforceable in state jurisdictions where loopholes exists in federal law.

If you want to curb the demand in ivory and rhino horn, you must tell your state legislator to support these bills pending in CA, CT, HI, IA, OK, and WA. If you live in these states, now is your chance to make a difference.

For info on how to get your voice across in support of bills still pending, please send an e-mail to [email protected]

(Many thanks to the Tusk Task Force for this information - visit their page to learn keep up to date with the latest bills and actions needed to BAN IVORY in the USA!)