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A big eis4elephants high-five to officers Nathan Favreau, Neil Stevens, Brent Wilson and Peter Fanelli!
"ALBANY—In an effort to shutter the U.S. as a modern elephant graveyard, New York regulators are now demanding more proof that intricately carved artwork and fine white jewelry abide by state law.
In New York, it is illegal to sell ivory from elephants killed after 1978. The state is now requiring retailers and wholesalers licensed to sell older ivory to show detailed provenance of all their pieces.
Wildlife groups say African poachers, including militias and armed gangs, accelerated the lucrative slaughter to about 30,000 elephants last year.
"It's up hugely," said Liz Bennett of the Wildlife Conservation Society. She noted the recent seizure in Malaysia of about 1,500 tusks.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare said authorities worldwide confiscated about 27 tons of ivory in 2011, estimating 25,000 to 50,000 elephants were killed that year.
Investigators over the past two years have confiscated two tons of ivory that passed through New York City, considered a primary black market supporting the slaughter of the world's largest land mammals.
New York requires ivory dealers to be licensed, although officials acknowledge there are untold numbers of unsanctioned sellers.
About 110 retailers and wholesalers were previously licensed, but the number is down to about 60 under the new, tighter provisions.
More than a dozen applications were rejected, some outright and some for partial inventories, said wildlife biologist Joseph Therrien of the Department of Environmental Conservation's special licensing unit. Other dealers' license applications are pending."
~Wall Street Journal
December 28, 2012
By Michael Virtanen
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