Thomas, I bow to no one as to an environmentalist, but I think this discussion of ivory in lutes is a bit over the top. Piano keys and billiard balls are now made of synthetics, except for very special instruments (and I can't think of any offhand). "Tickling the ivories" is now just a phrase. The use of ivory by Western craftsmen, and the commensurate prices of their product, can easily be supplied by the legitimate trade in ivory from naturally deceased elephants. the illicit trade goes heavily to the Orient where traditional medicine still holds sway. (And I do not blame a tradition, I only describe it). We have poaching of black bears in the middle Atlantic states for their gall bladders (when you find a carcass with only that removed you have a pretty good guess as to the market). Rhino horns are yet in demand for the knife handles of Middle Eastern people. The Japanese kill more than their quota of whales using the excuse of "research" as whale meat is a delicacy in Japan. The desire for shark fin soup has sent a lot of sharks back into the sea without the ability to manuever and feed themselves.
Let us put it in perspective. The European trade in restricted goods is pretty well controlled, and if the product comes from the salvage of the bones and parts of animals who died naturally it is legitimate. The problem is the black market. Best, Jon
