William Rouse, verkställande direktör och ägare till Chiswick Auctions erkände brottet i förra veckan, men säger att hans företag utsatts för en kostsam häxjakt.
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| William Rouse- olaglig Elfenbenssäljare. Foto: Antiques Trade gazette |
Köparen av föremålet, Mr Saeed Akhavan, innehar ett försäljningsbås på den världsberömda antikmarknaden Portobello i London. Sedermera gjordes ett tillslag mot Portobellos Antikmarknad av specialpoliser från Wildlife Crime Unit och the Arts and Antiques Unit och då togs bland annat Mr Akhavans elefantbete i beslag och sändes iväg på analys. Undersökningen, som kostade motsvarande drygt 20.000 kronor visade att beten kom från en elefant som hade dött i mitten av 1960-talet.
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| Utrop nr 282, skuren ur en bete från cirka 1965. Foto: Antiques Trade gazette |
Samtidigt är mr Akhavan osäker på om han väntar ett liknande öde på grund av försäljningen av beten på Portobello Market. Han fick ett antal föremål beslagtagna av the Wildlife Crime Unit år 2012, -merparten returnerades sex månader senare med motiveringen att det rörde sig om ben och inte elfenben från elefant. Efter tre besök hos Notting Hills Polisstation sa han till Antiques Trade Gazette att han var tveksam om han någonsin skulle handla med elfenben igen.
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| Före detta elefanter. Foto: Worldbulletin.net |
I maj i år fick Zhifei Li, 30 år, 70 månaders fängelsedom i USA för att ha försökt smuggla Noshörningshorn och elfenben till Kina från USA. Qiang Wang, antikhandlare i USA och Lis kumpan, fick 37 månaders fängelse i samma affär.
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| Före detta noshörningar. Foto: Worldbulletin.net |
Om nu männen i Asien har sådana ENORMA problem med potensen, så erbjuder jag mig härmed mig att leda kurser i potenshantering, mot en smärre kostnad. Alla asiater som äter så kallad afrodisiaka i form av malt noshörningshorn är välkomna. Kurs 1; Visa din partner djup kärlek och respekt. Sedan tar vi det därifrån. Häpp!
Vad var det nu antikhandlaren på Portobello sade? Efter tre besök hos Notting Hills Polisstation var han tveksam till om han någonsin skulle handla med elfenben igen.
It´s one small step for man but a giant leap for elephants.
Fotnoter:
För bättre förförståelse av ovanstående, se även följande krönikor:
http://antikmonologen.blogspot.se/2013/08/uppsala-onlinekvalitetsauktion-avsager.html
http://antikmonologen.blogspot.se/2014/02/uppsala-auktionskammare-avslutar.html
http://antikmonologen.blogspot.se/2014/09/uppsala-auktionskammare-frias-pa-grund.html
Den brittiske åklagaren valde att basera sitt åtal på teknisk bevisning och datering av elfenbenet, till skillnad från åtalet mot Uppsala Auktionskammare, där teknisk bevisning/undersökning hade valts bort av åklagaren. Notabelt är att Storbritannien och Sverige har exakt samma regelverk gällande (försäljning av) Cites-relaterat material.
Min dröm är att en vacker dag kunna få privilegiet att visa min femåriga dotter elefanter och noshörningar, inte endast på bild och nej, jag är inte rabiat jaktmotståndare. Enkom rabiat motståndare till dumhet, girighet och icke ansvarstagande människor.
Källor:
http://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/2014/oct/20/auction-house-fined-3200-over-ivory-breach/
http://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/2014/sep/08/auction-house-charged-over-ivory-sale/
http://www.worldbulletin.net/world/146364/tanzania-calls-for-intl-ban-on-ivory-rhino-trade
Auction house fined £3200 over ivory breach
20 October 2014Written by Roland ArkellChiswick's July 3, 2012, sale offered as lot 282 an item catalogued as 'an antique carved ivory tusk worked as a train of elephants'. It had been taken in over the front desk from a first-time vendor by a valuer who deemed the item to have been 'worked' prior to June 1947, as the law demands. The buyer, at around £100, was Saeed Akhavan, a regular stallholder at Portobello Road.
During a subsequent sweep of the market by special constables from the Wildlife Crime Unit and the Arts and Antiques unit, the carving was confiscated and sent for scientific analysis. The process (costing in the region of £2000) showed the tusk was from an elephant that had died in the mid 1960s.
After police learned the source of the illegal carving, Mr Rouse was asked to make a statement at Notting Hill Police Station in April 2013 and, in August this year, he received an email from DC Sarah Bailey of the Wildlife Crime Unit outlining their intention to prosecute.
On October 13 the court imposed a fine of £4500 (close to the maximum fine of £5000 that can be imposed for a single charge of CITES Regulations 1997) but reduced it to £3200 on account of the guilty plea.
Above: William Rouse of Chiswick Auctions: "A huge amount of public money has been spent on this matter but to what end?"
Mr Rouse was shocked at the size of the penalty for an isolated incident that earned the auctioneers commissions of around £40.
Anxious to put the matter behind him, he has no plans to appeal (there was a suggestion the matter might be better dealt with by the Crown court), but he maintains the West London firm have been harshly treated in response to a cause célèbre.
He added: "A huge amount of public money has been spent on this matter but to what end? We are still permitted to sell antique ivory and what has it taught us apart from the need to be even more vigilant in a situation where every auction room in the land treads a difficult line?"
Meanwhile Mr Akhavan is unsure if he faces a similar fate for offering the tusk carving for sale at Portobello.
He had a number of items confiscated by the Wildlife Crime Unit in 2012 - the majority returned six months later after analysis confirmed they were bone rather than ivory. Following three visits to the Notting Hill Police Station, he told ATG he is now reluctant to offer ivory for sale again.
Auction house fined £3200 over ivory breach
20 October 2014Written by Roland ArkellChiswick's July 3, 2012, sale offered as lot 282 an item catalogued as 'an antique carved ivory tusk worked as a train of elephants'. It had been taken in over the front desk from a first-time vendor by a valuer who deemed the item to have been 'worked' prior to June 1947, as the law demands. The buyer, at around £100, was Saeed Akhavan, a regular stallholder at Portobello Road.
During a subsequent sweep of the market by special constables from the Wildlife Crime Unit and the Arts and Antiques unit, the carving was confiscated and sent for scientific analysis. The process (costing in the region of £2000) showed the tusk was from an elephant that had died in the mid 1960s.
After police learned the source of the illegal carving, Mr Rouse was asked to make a statement at Notting Hill Police Station in April 2013 and, in August this year, he received an email from DC Sarah Bailey of the Wildlife Crime Unit outlining their intention to prosecute.
On October 13 the court imposed a fine of £4500 (close to the maximum fine of £5000 that can be imposed for a single charge of CITES Regulations 1997) but reduced it to £3200 on account of the guilty plea.
Above: William Rouse of Chiswick Auctions: "A huge amount of public money has been spent on this matter but to what end?"
Mr Rouse was shocked at the size of the penalty for an isolated incident that earned the auctioneers commissions of around £40.
Anxious to put the matter behind him, he has no plans to appeal (there was a suggestion the matter might be better dealt with by the Crown court), but he maintains the West London firm have been harshly treated in response to a cause célèbre.
He added: "A huge amount of public money has been spent on this matter but to what end? We are still permitted to sell antique ivory and what has it taught us apart from the need to be even more vigilant in a situation where every auction room in the land treads a difficult line?"
Meanwhile Mr Akhavan is unsure if he faces a similar fate for offering the tusk carving for sale at Portobello.
He had a number of items confiscated by the Wildlife Crime Unit in 2012 - the majority returned six months later after analysis confirmed they were bone rather than ivory. Following three visits to the Notting Hill Police Station, he told ATG he is now reluctant to offer ivory for sale again.
Auction house fined £3200 over ivory breach
20 October 2014Written by Roland ArkellChiswick's July 3, 2012, sale offered as lot 282 an item catalogued as 'an antique carved ivory tusk worked as a train of elephants'. It had been taken in over the front desk from a first-time vendor by a valuer who deemed the item to have been 'worked' prior to June 1947, as the law demands. The buyer, at around £100, was Saeed Akhavan, a regular stallholder at Portobello Road.
During a subsequent sweep of the market by special constables from the Wildlife Crime Unit and the Arts and Antiques unit, the carving was confiscated and sent for scientific analysis. The process (costing in the region of £2000) showed the tusk was from an elephant that had died in the mid 1960s.
After police learned the source of the illegal carving, Mr Rouse was asked to make a statement at Notting Hill Police Station in April 2013 and, in August this year, he received an email from DC Sarah Bailey of the Wildlife Crime Unit outlining their intention to prosecute.
On October 13 the court imposed a fine of £4500 (close to the maximum fine of £5000 that can be imposed for a single charge of CITES Regulations 1997) but reduced it to £3200 on account of the guilty plea.
Above: William Rouse of Chiswick Auctions: "A huge amount of public money has been spent on this matter but to what end?"
Mr Rouse was shocked at the size of the penalty for an isolated incident that earned the auctioneers commissions of around £40.
Anxious to put the matter behind him, he has no plans to appeal (there was a suggestion the matter might be better dealt with by the Crown court), but he maintains the West London firm have been harshly treated in response to a cause célèbre.
He added: "A huge amount of public money has been spent on this matter but to what end? We are still permitted to sell antique ivory and what has it taught us apart from the need to be even more vigilant in a situation where every auction room in the land treads a difficult line?"
Meanwhile Mr Akhavan is unsure if he faces a similar fate for offering the tusk carving for sale at Portobello.
He had a number of items confiscated by the Wildlife Crime Unit in 2012 - the majority returned six months later after analysis confirmed they were bone rather than ivory. Following three visits to the Notting Hill Police Station, he told ATG he is now reluctant to offer ivory for sale again.
