THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	149
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

urging Hawaii RESIDENTS AND businesses to comply with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and not to buy or sell ivory of unknown origin that may have been illegally smuggled into the state.

 

     WHEREAS, African elephants and rhinoceroses are nearing extinction due to the high price of ivory; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, attended by 178 nations in March 2013, noted that elephant slaughter has reached crisis proportions unheard of in two decades; and

 

     WHEREAS, the black market trade of ivory is skyrocketing through internet sales, including within the United States, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare; and

 

     WHEREAS, tens of thousands of African elephants are being slaughtered in Africa each year by poachers intent on selling their ivory, and ivory trafficking is at the highest recorded rate ever; and

 

     WHEREAS, in Zakouma National Park, in southern Chad, an African game park, an estimated 4,350 elephants were reported in a 2002 census but, due to mass hunting, only an estimated 457 elephants are left in Zakouma today; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is recorded that family clusters of elephants are being slaughtered by automatic weapons in Africa; and

 

     WHEREAS, the rhinoceros population has been similarly decimated throughout Africa as criminal gangs kill rhinoceroses for ivory; and

 

     WHEREAS, scientists believe the population of elephants and rhinoceroses cannot withstand this slaughter; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, adopted by the United States, banned the sale of African elephant ivory in 1989; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite federal laws that prohibit the sale of certain classes of ivory, generally, African ivory is legally sold in Hawaii as jewelry and antiques if it was imported before 1989 or is at least one hundred years old at the time of import; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to one study by Care for the Wild International, despite the international and national bans, one-third of ivory products sold in the United States have illegal origins; and

 

     WHEREAS, compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora as it relates to the ban on the sale of ivory products in the State will contribute to protecting African elephants and rhinoceroses from extinction; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the House of Representatives concurring, that Hawaii residents and businesses are urged to comply with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and are urged not to buy or sell ivory of unknown origin that may have been illegally smuggled into the State; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii; and Better Business Bureau of Hawaii, Inc.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Dept. of Land and Natural Resources; Ban Sale of Ivory Products