Jim, you are mistaken,
CITES has a lot to say about issues of "legal" (i.e. pre-convention) ivory. In the USA, another law, the "Asian and African Elephant Conservation Act" also applies even stricter regulation.
CITES makes use of post-convention (i.e. obtained from the wild post-1989) material illegal in internationally traded items. The "Conservation Act" extends this ban to material obtained post-1977, so in the USA, "legal ivory" must have been obtained from the wild before 1977.
CITES explicitly governs (though it does not entirely ban) international trade in Elephant ivory and the movement of elephany ivory across borders. Items made with pre-1977 ivory still must have CITES permits in order to be transported, unless they are certifiably over 100 years old. (Much of the thriving US trade in ivory from overseas appears to be in falsely-documented "antiques".) However you cannot get a CITES permit for material taken from the wild post-1977, because such material is illegal under the Conservation Act mentioned above.
Anyone who wants to read more and doesn't take my word for it, please feel free to peruse
African Elephant Conservation Act and
CITES.
From the CITES "How Cites Works" link: (note, elephants are 'Appendix I' specied, and ordinary cross-border travel is defined as 'export' and 'import', for purposes of CITES. Also, because CITES prohibits import of post -1989 material, and the Conservation Act prohibits import of post-1977 material, such material is not "legally obtained" and thus cannot be granted the "appropriate document" as referred to below):
A specimen of a CITES-listed species may be imported into or exported (or re-exported) from a State party to the Convention only if the appropriate document has been obtained and presented for clearance at the port of entry or exit. There is some variation of the requirements from one country to another and it is always necessary to check on the national laws that may be stricter, but the basic conditions that apply for Appendices I and II are described below.
Appendix-I specimens
1. An import permit issued by the Management Authority of the State of import is required. This may be issued only if the specimen is not to be used for primarily commercial purposes and if the import will be for purposes that are not detrimental to the survival of the species. In the case of a live animal or plant, the Scientific Authority must be satisfied that the proposed recipient is suitably equipped to house and care for it.
2. An export permit or re-export certificate issued by the Management Authority of the State of export or re-export is also required.
An export permit may be issued only if the specimen was legally obtained; the trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species; and an import permit has already been issued.
A re-export certificate may be issued only if the specimen was imported in accordance with the provisions of the Convention and, in the case of a live animal or plant, if an import permit has been issued.
In the case of a live animal or plant, it must be prepared and shipped to minimize any risk of injury, damage to health or cruel treatment.
There's also an
interesting PDF file of a Humane Society of the United States investigation into fraudulent ivory trade online.
Because I am the owner of a set of pipes (
Musette de Coeur, not uilleann pipes) with elephant ivory mounts which were taken from the wild before 1977, I know what I am talking about, since I have been through the CITES permitting process myself.
Bill
