Gov. Phil Scott has signed into law a prohibition on the sale of ivory and other endangered animal parts, making Vermont the 12th state to ban transactions within its borders.
Although federal law prohibits the import, export and interstate trade of wildlife parts from 15 at-risk species, including elephants and rhinos, individual states are responsible for regulating trade internally. The law that Scott signed last Thursday, H.99, covers 15 species.
“State laws are helpful because they provide a backstop” for items that slip in despite the ban on imports, said Barry Londeree, state director of the Humane Society of the United States, which has been pushing states across the country to adopt this type of law. Not all imports can be inspected, and, “only a small percentage of wildlife products are detected,” he said, which makes the state-level laws key to discouraging trade.
Supporters of the ban say it will decrease demand and protect animals at risk of extinction from poachers.
Antique dealers are likely to be affected by the new law, and they have spoken out on both sides of the issue.
Some, like John Martin, who owns Martin’s Coins and Jewelry in South Burlington, already refuse to sell ivory in their stores on moral grounds; others say the ban will hurt their businesses. There are no statistics on the total amount of ivory in the state, but supporters of the law say it won’t have a detrimental economic impact.
Even if ivory isn’t traded much in Vermont, some conservationists see the legislation as a win. They think reducing demand will discourage hunting of endangered animals.
Opponents say the ivory market should be curtailed on the ground in Africa, not by lawmakers thousands of miles away.
“We understand the importance of these species to our global heritage and would support a bill that benefitted them. H.99 is not that bill,” Mike Covey wrote in a statement, citing concerns with “language, negative conservation impacts, and the privilege and neocolonialism embodied in the bill.” Covey is executive director of the Vermont Traditions Coalition, which he described as a conservation organization “at its root.” The organization is also vocal about fishing, hunting and trapping policies.
According to the Stowe-based nonprofit Protect Our Wildlife, the United States is among the bigger importers of endangered animal parts. The group has been working with Ashley McAvey, an activist who lives in Shelburne, on the ivory ban since 2015.
When McAvey began pushing for the ban in 2012, no states had adopted the law. She attributes the new Vermont law to grassroots activism in the state. Now, she hopes to see “a rapid cascade of movements on a state-by-state basis” and plans to continue her advocacy in other states.
The Vermont law takes effect Jan. 1, 2022, giving Vermont ivory owners time to sell their items legally. The law covers the sale of ivory, rhino horn and other endangered animal parts, and includes several exemptions for musical instruments and antiques that have less than 200 grams of ivory attached to the piece — such as piano keys. The exemption was expanded to include knives and guns containing attached ivory elements.
The law does not regulate trophy hunting.
