2 Jewelers Admit Illegally Trading in Ivory

[alp227]

Source: NYT

To shoppers browsing in Midtown Manhattan, the objects might have resembled curios brought home by globe-trotters of a bygone age: bone-white carvings fashioned into jewelry, animal figurines or other gifts.

But in reality, they were ivory made from tusks of Asian and African elephants killed by poachers.

Following one of the largest seizures of illicit ivory sold in New York, two jewelers and their stores pleaded guilty on Thursday to marketing what prosecutors said was more than $2 million worth of the goods, weighing upward of a ton.

The case, brought by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, reflects an unsettling trend. Last year, some 24 tons of ivory was seized around the world — the product of an estimated 2,500 elephants — making it the worst year for elephant poaching since an international ban on commercial ivory trading began in 1989, according to Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring network.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/nyregion/illegal-ivory-leads-2-to-plead-guilty-in-new-york.html

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Hope they go away to jail for a long, long time.

[TheWraith]

2. One of the tricks often used is to artificially age the ivory...

Thus making it look like it's an antique item, something from the 1800s or early 1900s. Not only does it disguise the origins in the illegal ivory trade, but it also boosts the price due to the perceived antique value. Fortunately, a good analysis can tell the difference between real antique ivory and artificially aged stuff.

[riverbendviewgal]

3. They won't be going to jail

and their fines are not very big....

Just a slap on the wrist.

Disgraceful.

[TheWraith]

5. Unfortunately, that's the law.

Until the law is updated to reflect animal trafficking as a more serious offense, it's going to remain that way.

[pscot]

4. Shoot the bastards

and sell their teeth.

[RebelOne]

6. I can agree with that. n/t

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. I can't agree with capital punishment

But, sell their teeth? I can agree with that!

[Curtland1015]

9. That's what I was thinking.

Just rip the teeth out of their heads.

[Nihil]

8. And, in keeping with their own handiwork, ...

... they don't even need to be dead before people start hacking their teeth out ...

(Treat it as a sop towards the "No capital punishment - no exceptions" objectors)