It is going to come down to this........The only way Ernie can be found innocent of violating the CA ivory ban (AB-96 effective 7/1/16), not the Federal regulation, is if Ginacue can legally substantiate the following:
1. The ivory he used in the cue was actually pre-ban ivory.
2. The cue was actually built and shipped prior to July 1, 2016.
Both of these conditions are inviolate requirements under the CA ban and Ernie & possibly his customer under certain circumstances, have a big legal problem if the aforementioned conditions were not satisfied. If Ernie even assisted the shipping of a cue with ivory that he built before the ban took effect, it has no bearing. If shipping involves the sale of a cue, or a cue repair and "any" ivory was used, the cue had to be shipped by June 30, 2016. Any cue completed or shipped thereafter is a violation of the law. I know this to be factually true and I communicated that to Bob Owen & Jerry Rauenzahn whom were building me custom cues scheduled for completion after July 1, 2016. This past March, I updated them about what I was told by CA Fish & Wildlife and both guys moved heaven & earth to get my cues finished by this past Memorial Day weekend. And there's a shitload of ivory in these cues so I was definitely concerned about the CA regulation. Thank goodness both of these cues now safely reside in my cue case.
California cue-makers that have anything in their shop had better get rid of everything involving ivory because the head of Enforcement at CA Fish & Wildlife could be sending agents to your shop tomorrow.....and they have the authority to inspect your premises and business records. I've been warning about this on the Forum since May after I started having communications with the Enforcement Division about obtaining CITES documentation for my cues for my own protection.
If you get caught, you may not wind up receiving the criminal imprisonment penalty allowed under the law but rest assured, you will absolutely lose you cue and receive a substantial fine and the maximum fine is not totally unimaginable for a buyer ($5k). The ivory ban is a serious impediment to cue-making and naturally for all other uses & applications as well. Do not order a cue from a CA cue-maker with ivory or else just be prepared for problems. You are far better off buying the cue in person from a individual seller. If you reside in CA, meet on the other side of the Nevada state line when you buy or sell the cue. I was told very specifically what I need to do to sell my EP cue to help finance the purchase of a Hercek cue that would also have ivory. As long as I am not in the state of California when that takes place, i.e., both the sale of my EP cue & purchase of a Hercek cue, I satisfy California Assembly Bill AB-96 and it is completely legal & permissible.
Matt B.
p.s. If Ernie has documentation that the ivory was purchased legally and can show inventory control records for usage, he will not have to do anything else.
But the burden of proof is on Ernie....he must show he abides by the law that banned ivory after 1978. He just cannot state the ivory is legal and he must
prove it because ivory was banned long ago. If he does not have adequate documentation, then US Fish & Wildlife is permitted to test sample the ivory and
carbon date it for age. They drill into the pool cue and take as many samples as they are inclined to take. Some of the ivory in a cue might be a combination of
legal pre-ban ivory and more recently poached ivory. The only way to know is to sample all of the ivory. AND......damage to the cue is not the responsibility of
CA Fish & Wildlife......they are not liable for any damages under the law even if the ivory turned out to be all legal, pre-ban ivory......I got that straight from my
local Assemblyman's legal staff. Otherwise, the cost of enforcement could become prohibitively expensive that undermines the intent and overall purpose of
the regulation. CA Fish & Wildlife is indemnified under the law for testing the ivory in any article if proper documentation evidencing its legality is not available.
A photo is worth a thousand words......the below is why I follow the ivory ban so closely.