London - British antiques dealers were forced to deface ornaments worth hundreds of thousands of pounds by US officials because they contained tiny amounts of ivory.
Four businessmen were taking stock to Florida for an annual antiques fair when they were stopped at Miami airport for trying to bring ivory into the country illegally.
They said the quantity in their pieces was more than 100 years old and was too negligible to be included in the import ban on ivory.
But the officials gave them hammers and pliers and told them to remove the ivory or have their stock confiscated.
The experts cut the head and hands from a 115-year-old, 10in silver beefeater and pulled the handles off four valuable silver pots before they were allowed into the country. Ken Bull, of John Bull Antiques in Mayfair, central London, said: “We are talking about antiques – I can understand it if it was made yesterday.
“I said I would take it back to the UK, but they insisted I remove it there and then. It was galling and quite barbaric.The American authorities have really gone overboard.”
Mr Bull and his colleagues claim the collectible items were damaged and devalued, and cost hundreds of pounds to repair.
The trade in ivory is banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, but poachers are still killing elephants and rhinos and selling their tusks.
Mr Bull said he could understand the need to crack down on new ivory, but not on antiques. He said: “The Americans have a zero-tolerance approach.
“We are talking about ludicrous sizes and amounts of ivory and items that were made over 100 years ago.”
Jonathan Dubiner, of Paul Bennett Antiques in central London, said: “We had silver teapots and coffee pots that had bits of ivory on the handle. They weren’t happy with this. I was given a hammer and pliers to remove the ivory. There was quite a lot of damage.”
A spokesperson for the US Fish and Wildlife Service said America intended to bring in exemptions for antiques, but added: “We believe that a nearly complete ban on commercial elephant ivory trade is the best way to ensure that US domestic markets do not contribute to the decline of this species.”
Daily Mail