Sworders abhor and condemn the poaching of all species, and the wanton destruction of natural habitats.
The Ivory Act 2018, as amended prohibits the dealing, or sale, of ivory in most cases. This means a person cannot buy, sell, or hire an item within the UK and also prohibits the import and export of ivory for the purpose of sale or hire.
Ivory is defined as ivory from an:
The law also requires that all ivory must be treated as from a restricted species, unless this can be proved to the contrary.
The Act has a significant effect on the value of items containing ivory, rendering them worthless, unless they fall into one of the exemptions, in which case, they will retain some market value.
The categories for an exemption are:
Standard exemptions
Sales to, and hire agreements with, qualifying museums
Artistic cultural or historical exemption
All exempt items must be registered and those considered to be of museum quality and have artistic cultural or historical importance must also have an exemption certificate, in addition to the registration.
If you would like to sell your ivory item, where it falls into one of the exemptions, we can register this for you. There is a charge payable for the registration or application for an exemption certificate. For more information, you can contact us at auctions@sworder.co.uk
Information on how you can register or apply for an exemption certificate is available on the government website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dealing-in-items-containing-ivory-or-made-of-ivory.