Although importing ivory to the U.S. has banned since the 1989 moratorium, there is a legal exception; sport-hunted trophies. The legal loophole permits Americans to shoot elephants and import the ivory into the USA.
And it isn't just the ivory. Safari hunters bring back elehant hide and the leather makes belts, ladies purses & gun cases. Stoles are made from the feet,- and elephant ears are used to paint maps of Africa.
In the 1930s and 1940s, there were as many as five million African elephants on Earth. Now populations have dwindled to between less than 500,000. Given the current elephant poaching in Africa, we ask for a complete ban on all elephant products, under all circumatances. Close the loophole that allows ivory, and all elephant products, to be imported into the United States.
SOURCE:http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/legal-ivory.html#cr
United States International Trade Commission
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Washington, DC 20436
Phone: 202.205.2000
Fax: 202.205.1810
Contact: http://usitc.gov/scripts/contact_us.asp