Sorry to say I don't think your comparison to cotton is a good one. Cotton has uses other than being decorative. Humans abusing humans is another matter. We'd never approve of murdering humans to sell their body parts and that's basically what's been done with elephants, rhinos, gorillas and more. Should we resell recovered trophies from these type of hunts too? I'd hope not. There are some things we can't put a price tag on. If these ivory pieces can be ground up and used as fertilizer or compounded with other chemicals to make them useful for some other purpose, I'd do that gladly...but sold for people to wear and display in their homes is something I'd not do.
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General discussion
Ivory - Does this make sense?
Would we do similar if this was diamonds from slave labor? What if it was cotton raised by underpaid workers? I can see doing it for illegal drugs which have a harmful value from it's growth to it's buyers, but this seems awfully wasteful.
I don't really have a yea or nay position about it, just that it seems needlessly wasteful of a resource which perhaps could be sold and have the funds from it donated instead toward correcting the problems caused by the ivory trade.
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16 Posts
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True, no utilitarian use in today's world for the ivory. I just don't understand the fascination with it myself. I do hate waste too though. Maybe they could add a room to a museum or onto the Holocaust museum and put them all on display with some information about the useless slaughter.
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elephants that died of natural causes or were killed for other reasons than their tusks. I imagine that ivory was a good medium to use with crude tools and, in older tribal times, had other uses. As I understand it, elephant slaughter began when samples of carved ivory were brought to kings and wealthy landowners and businessmen. These folks apparently coveted more of it and price was no object. The rest is history...or so I've heard. I can also tell you that, when I was in college, I worked summers for a moving company that had a military contract. One of my jobs was to unpack the crates of household goods belonging to servicemen returning from overseas duty. We'd have to inspect each item for damage using an inventory sheet marking the condition when it was packed. This means I saw a lot of what was brought back. On some occasions I'd help deliver the goods as well. There was a lot of ivory brought back that way as well as the occasional elephant's foot umbrella stand. I didn't know enough back then to be disgusted but I am now.
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of value during drug busts or other unlawful acts, such as the Madoff prosecution, and then sell off those items for the government 'till'.....I rather like the idea of putting it all on display in a museum to make a point of showing the uninformed or non-believing public the results of their 'greed'.
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but we don't resell it. We don't re-market the millions in drugs that are taken. There are police auctions for unclaimed property but it's stuff that's legal to own. Your suggestion of displaying it as an example of what's done in the name of greed, however, is a good one. We just need to make certain that not displayed for its craftsmanship more than for the involuntary sacrifice some animal made for some human to make money. That type of art has a very ugly side that's not that clearly visible to some. I suppose there may have been a time when such harvesting was done in a more respectful way. We've heard stories of how hunters would make use of every bit of their catch that was possible so that nothing went to waste. Now we hear of gorillas being killed for the heads, hands and feet to be kept as trophies. To me that's more evidence that man is not an evolving species but a devolving one. Ok...off the soapbox now. 
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This one says that the illegally obtained ivory is already being used for educational purposes but that we already have more than enough for that purpose. Sounds reasonable to me.
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While the collection should pre-date the passing of laws and more, will we take the final step and strip the museums too?
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is plenty for now. Of course, if the supply dries up and there's nothing left but that in museums, these places might need beefier security.
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but maybe a comparison could be made to items on display in the Holocaust museum, but those aren't body parts, I don't think, unless they have some of the tattoo skin lamps that were made by some really sick souls.
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Even museum pieces are going to get some to think "how nice" and try to get their own.
Maybe it's time to remove them from display because we are sending the wrong message.
Bob
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I do know that captured stocks in Africa are burned.
I feel rather the same way as you do, James. I figure that it should be sold off at a premium to Japan and China in the hope that its sale will diminish the returns for African poachers perhaps saving living adult elephants. The rationale may be that such behaviour would legitimize the sale of ivory, however.
Rob
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You'll find it suggested that the poaching is driven by the hunger for ivory by the new wealthy in China and other parts of Asia where it was previously the treasure of royalty.
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And why removing it from all museum displays may be required. Why give anyone the idea this is to be treasured, have value or sought after?
Bob
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The whole idea of confiscation is to remove contraband or any other name you want to call it away from the hands that are either selling or buying it. Even though by that very act makes any remaining contraband out there all the more valuable. The idea also of a any "public display" is to show it is out of nefarious hands and legally being disposed of and no one gets any, excluding educational or legal or approved displays.
Since ivory poaching is actually killing for such is reducing the herds yet little seems to make headway other than stopping poachers in their tracks on the spot, which is already being done. This should also include any other poaching or contraband gathering like animals(pets), diamonds(blood), horns, artifacts, etc., are curtailed or at least controlled/manageable to some degree. If not, it will entirely wipeout or so severally reduce the items in question to oblivion. However, that poverty and the very root of why poaching is so endearing to those taking chances, so be more clearly taken to the buyers themselves. If you're going to be using the UN as a legal apparatus to stop this, then go after those members that so readily make this part of their culture, nuke them to oblivion. Problem solved, no more buyers. Now on to other matters. NEXT! Who is the mother of this child? -----Willy 
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It is definitely quite shocking news and there is no doubt about it. Now the people who have money and superstition will again encourage the poaching business. And obviously the ecological balance will be disrupted. Thanks a lot James for raising such an issue.
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