A famous auctioneer in South Kensington has been fined thousands of pounds for putting an elephant tusk up for sale.
Christie’s auction house on Old Brompton Road has been ordered to pay a £3,250 fine, £85 in costs and a victim surcharge of £120, after pleading guilty to selling the ivory without the correct documentation, on Monday (May 23).
The company was summonsed and appeared at Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court on April 11 charged with selling elephant ivory against Article 8 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
PC Rowena Roberts, wildlife officer for Kensington and Chelsea, said: “Anyone who owns antique ivory should be aware that it cannot be legally sold without an Article 10 certificate which can be obtained via the Animal and Plants Health Agency [APHA].
“The tusk in this case was mounted on silver but was basically a raw, unmodified elephant tusk and therefore should not have been offered for sale without the correct documentation.
"These laws were established to protect the worlds remaining elephants.”
The ivory tusk mounted on silver was offered for sale on April 28, 2015 in a Christie’s auction with a guide price of £1,200 - £1,800.
The 63-year-old owner of the piece of unworked ivory has been charged with offering it for sale.
Some six months ago, one of the largest ever seizures of ivory were uncovered by Border Force officers at Heathrow.
For more information on the law around selling ivory visit CITES.
