American pipers scrambling for CITES permits before heading to Glasgow

payment for processing. Unless pipers with ivory-mounted instruments prefer to throw caution to the wind, they’re looking at US$186 in inspection charges when adhering to the letter of the law.

He provided a synopsis of the complicated process for full certification:

1. Sent information about the pipes to Ron Bowen.
2. He documented and confirmed that the pipes met the pre-1976 requirement for ivory.
3. Filled out a CITES form.
4. Sent form and $75 (permit form 1018-0093) to Federal Fish & Wildlife in Washington, DC.
5. I was originally told that it could take more than three months.
6. I called the office in Washington several times a day for a few days until I reached a live person. Must have been my lucky day! They actually were very helpful after explaining that I was leaving for the World Pipe Band Championships in a few weeks. They asked me to call back the following week and they would see what they could do based on my call with them, but didn’t promise anything.
7. Called back the following week and was told that my document was on the way. Everything was correct on the application and back-up from Ron.
8. Received my “Musical Instrument” documents last week and it had a card saying before traveling you must call the US Port for inspection before traveling.
9. I called this morning and had to make an appointment 48 hours before travel or set up a meeting with Fish & Wildlife at the airport the day I leave.
10. The cost of the inspection is $93, or $105.00 if after-hours.
11. I have set up a meeting to meet a Fish & Wildlife Inspector at the check-in desk at the airport to stamp and sign my paperwork to travel with the pipes.
12. I have to do the same thing returning to the United States a week later. I will have to call from Scotland 48 hours in advance to set up a meeting at customs.

MacDonald said that he plans to keep all of his documentation with his pipes “at all times, even in the United States. If by chance an officer of Fish & Wildlife happens to be around and asks if they documented, I need to produce the information.”

Ron Bowen added, “Owning and travelling with your ivory bagpipe has become very complicated. It requires familiarity and compliance with the CITES regulations. It is very easy to inadvertently contravene these complicated laws, however ignorance of the law is not a defense. The intent of the new US law is to eliminate the commercial trade of ivory in the US altogether. States are enacting their own laws that will complicate or prevent the sale of ivory both in-state and from state-to-state.”

He cautions that bagpipe owners should also always seek clarification from relevant government agencies and, if necessary, additional advice from a lawyer familiar with laws around the protection of endangered species.

Bowen said that so far neither Canada nor Great Britain have followed the United States with strict enforcement, and that personal items of ivory may be transported under a “personal effects” exemption. As long as it is not a commercial transaction, ivory-mounted pipes can be transported between the UK and other countries without a CITES permit. But Canadian pipers with ivory-mounted instruments who have connecting flights to Scotland via the United States are also subject to having their pipes seized.

Some pipers have reportedly considered purchasing a second set of “travelling” pipes that do not have ivory mounts, just to save the hassle, willing to sacrifice a bit of tone to safeguard against the loss of an irreplaceable antique instrument.

And at the suggestion of replacing original ivory on an older set of pipes, Bowen was blunt: “It’s outrageous to think of stripping the ivory off of a classic set of Hendersons.”