On Wednesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld New York’s landmark ban on the sale of elephant ivory and rhino horn. This is a heartening win for these animals because this ruling affirms the right of states such as New York to create laws that protect wildlife and end their own participation in markets for cruel products.
The fight to defend this law goes back years. In 2014, New York passed a law banning the in-state sale of elephant ivory and rhino horn because of concerns related to the expanding global demand for these wildlife parts, including in New York, and to help deter the trade of these products in the state. In 2018, we and other allies intervened in court to defend the law against a lawsuit filed by art and antiques dealer trade groups to overturn it. Attorneys from our Animal Protection Law team represented the Humane Society of the United States and other organizations in defending the New York law in court.
Killing elephants for their ivory or rhinos for their horn inflicts harm on whole herds and family structures, not to speak of being horrifically cruel. We have heard of tusks being chopped off even while animals are still alive, which causes unimaginable suffering and agonizing deaths. The trade in ivory and rhino horn has put entire species at risk of extinction: 90% of African elephants have been killed in the last 100 years. There are only around 28,000 rhinos remaining worldwide.
Ending the trade in ivory and rhino horn is critical if we are to ensure these beloved animals do not disappear. New York’s ban was a monumental step toward ending the global ivory trade because the state had gained the infamous reputation as one of the biggest destinations for ivory traffickers in the U.S. Before the law went into effect, New York was home to the nation’s largest ivory market. In 2012, an investigation by state authorities led to the seizure of elephant ivory worth more than $2 million from jewelers based in New York City.
While this week’s decision prevents the state from restricting the advertisement and marketing of covered products to buyers outside of the state, the decision confirms that sales of such products will not be allowed in New York. The art and antiques dealer trade groups failed in their primary aim, which was to invalidate New York’s ban because it is stricter than federal laws and regulations. We were determined not to let this special interest group undermine a good and necessary animal protection law.
State ivory and rhino horn sales bans supplement federal laws and regulations, and they are particularly important if we are to end the trade in the U.S. For years, we have lobbied states to pass their own laws banning the trade in illicit wildlife products. Our advocacy in this area rests on the idea that if there are no markets left for such products, there is no incentive for poachers to continue to kill the animals.
New Jersey was the first state to ban ivory sales, in 2014, followed closely after by New York. Altogether, 13 states and Washington, D.C., have passed laws or ballot measures banning ivory and other wildlife body parts. These include California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, and we continue to advocate for other states to pass similar laws.
