<p>I would, mymble. This new ruling has received surprisingly little popular press and many are still not aware of it. </p>
<p>Thanks @glassharmonica will do and will post here what the tour organizers have to say. </p>
<p>An article in The New York Times (March 20)</p>
<p><a href=“Limits on Ivory Sales, Meant to Protect Elephants, Set Off Wide Concerns - The New York Times”>Limits on Ivory Sales, Meant to Protect Elephants, Set Off Wide Concerns - The New York Times;
<p>So I spoke with our local bowmaker today (yes, we have an internationally renowned bowmaker in our little neck of the woods - strange, but true) about this whole issue and one of my son’s bows. First, he had not heard anything about the issue. He told me he sends bows to the US every week and so far nothing has been said. Now he doesn’t use elephant ivory (he uses mammoth) but in the description provided with his bows he has never specified the type of ivory, he simply says ivory tip. </p>
<p>Now he also said that it basically takes a DNA test to distinguish between the types of ivory, obviously something that those who work at customs are not going to be able to do. So, even if you don’t have elephant ivory on a bow my guess is that there could be a problem. </p>
<p>The good news was that when he worked on my son’s bow last year he did replace the tip and it was with mammoth ivory. On Monday I will email the government agency again to ask how we should proceed given that it is mammoth ivory and not elephant. I am hoping that they will say that an appraisal will suffice as long as it distinguishes the type of ivory (and my son can take a copy of the appraisal with him when he travels to the US). If not, we will carry on with the government form.</p>
<p>The saga continues…</p>
<p>
@BCviolinmom, exactly! This is what our dealer was saying. Can you imagine everyone lining up to get their bow tips DNA-tested?!</p>
<p>It does seem like the consequences of this have not been properly thought through. Surely the cost of the resources that will be needed to monitor this issue (lining up at an airport for DNA-testing as @glassharmonica notes) could be better spent on a conservation fund to save these endangered species. Or instead of people paying $75 for a musical instrument passport they could donate $75 to an conservation fund. </p>
<p>I’m very afraid that there are going to be instruments and bows summarily destroyed by overzealous and underedinformed US Customs agents. Unfortunately, once the object is in their hands, getting it back is next to impossible and can land one in custody with an assault charge. I would carry every piece of documentation that I had each and every trip.</p>
<p>^^I don’t think any of us have documentation about the types of ivory on bows. </p>
<p>I read the article in the times and all I could think of is that this is typical, with noble intentions, the regulators have put people into the position of being guilty until proven innocent, like some bad comedy sketch of being in the iron block and hearing “vhere are your papers?” They are imposing a burden on people who own anything with ivory (or worse, even exotic hardwoods like ebony, permabuoco and greneda), to prove what they have is legal, which is often next to impossible. If they want exact certification that an instrument is X, good luck, my S’s violin, which the shop gave the appraisal as being from a certain country, and more than likely a certain maker, was looked at by a luthier who said it wasn’t even Italian, another said it was what the shop said, it is all opinion…will they accept that a bow was 'likely made by Hill c1890" or “made by likely an apprentice of X c 1870”, or will they demand proof? Do we need to get the ivory tip have a DNA test? And you are leaving that judgement to people, sorry to say, who don’t really have the ability to judge things like that, and who in general are more likely than not to throw their power around and decide on the spot “that bow has ivory on it, that is illegal” and either confiscate the bow or decide to rip the ivory off of it. </p>
<p>This scenario reminds me of an old SNL sketch, with Chevy Chase as a customs agent, who is strip searching this old lady and her bags while this young hippy looking due is coming in from Colombia or some such place,where you see white powder flying out of his suitcase, where the guy is looking nervous, gets breezed through…the rough analogy to this with ivory is compare the old lady with the ivory broach coming through customs and getting the third degree, while boxes and boxes of stuff made in China from poached ivory is coming in through a side entrance, and you have the idea.</p>
<p>From what I hear, there has been pushback on this, that orchestras and such are concerned, and that there has been talk of amending the rules to find easier ground for people with ivory to be able to certify it without it being onerous. On top of that, I doubt this law will do much, because those who wrote the law are ignoring something, deliberately, and that is that prob 95% of the poached ivory is going to China to be made into trinkets and such, and thanks to bribery and whatnot, they will have an easier time getting poached ivory to other countries than legitimate people will certifying their own, legitimate stuff. Think that the people selling this stuff won’t have certificates saying “these objects are made from mammoth ivory” or “these objects have been checked, and are older than when the ivory bans went into place?”…They make legitimate owners lives miserable, while the way the law is written, it gives cart blanche to those who are truly responsible for the problem because they have the resources and clout to flaunt it, not to mention that when it comes to China, most other countries are afraid to confront them, for various reasons, and the Chinese government isn’t exactly pro environment or pro wildlife to start with.</p>
<p>@glassharmonica- I was referring to the post by BCVIOLINMOM where she said that the tip on the bow was replaced with mammoth ivory. I have learned, the hard way, to carry anything and everything I have pertaining to something which could be called into question! Make copies of appraisals, statements of repairs and replacements, anything you have to support your claims. Since it’s the government, I espouse the “drown them in paperwork” theory!</p>
<p>That’s fine, but I have owned many of these objects for years and while they have insurance and sales appraisals, there is no documentation of the kind of ivory on the bows. I’d need to get a DNA sample, which seems ludicrous-- not to mention impossible. </p>
<p>I’m in the same boat, glassharmonica! Let me know if you come up with any solutions because I need to figure out how to get around these insane regulations…</p>
<p>When I email the Canadian agency tomorrow morning I will ask them what they do (what they advise) for bows where the type of ivory is unknown (and the bow was purchased after 1976). Not saying it will be the same for the US but it might provide a starting point.</p>
<p>The regulations are not yet in effect, so we can start by lobbying… I hope that the string and orchestra organizations are working on a unified way of doing this.</p>
<p>From the Canadian agency responsible for CITES: “If the type of ivory is unknown, we always assume worst case…and that means elephant ivory.”</p>
<p>If you do have something other than elephant ivory then you need to carry documentation with you that identifies the type of ivory. For example, mammoth ivory is not on the CITES list (too late for the poor old mammoth) so it does not require any formal registration with the government and an appraisal will suffice.</p>
<p>The problem is that there is no way to certify that ivory is from a mammoth or an illegal African elephant or a (sadly, legal) Asian elephant, or an elephant who was killed in the 19th century. The law shoots mosquitoes with an elephant gun.</p>
<p>starting to remind me of Boris and Natasha, making me nostalgic for the cold war days “Vhere are your papers?”…same kind of mentality, if their heart is in the right place. It is hard to blame the thought behind this, it is pretty desperate, but on the other hand the real answer is to go after those that are causing the destruction. </p>
<p>Thanks to glassharmonica and musicprnt for stimulating the “theatre of the mind”!!</p>
<p>. My violin is C.1730, has never been “restored”, and thus also has prohibited elements.My bows are both very old, 150 yrs + and that’s clear to anyone with knowledge who looks at them, because the styles are very unique. Unfortunately, those Customs agents don’t know and don’t care. What to do?</p>