The indiscriminate poaching of elephants for their ivory is one of the truly great tragedies of contemporary society.

Those engaged in illicit ivory trade and any countries that facilitate it should be treated very harshly in the court of law for this shameful pursuit.

However, ordinary citizens, museums and antique dealers who for generations have collected antique ivory should not be lumped together with those who have perpetuated the shameless degrading of wildlife for their personal pursuit.

To personalize this perspective in Hawaii, I first became interested in whale tooth scrimshaw in the 1970s during trips to Lahaina with my family.

This led to purchasing a piece of antique whale tooth scrimshaw at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 1981. The provenance for this tooth was 1830.

I have acquired more pieces over the years, all with provenance well over 100 years.

Several of these pieces were engraved by very famous scrimshaw artists from the mid-1800s, a few dated and signed. These scrimshaw engravings were some of the earliest examples of a uniquely American folk art.

Some of the bills considered in Hawaii — and elsewhere for that matter — broad-brush legitimate collectors of antique ivory with the reprehensible poaching and destruction of wildlife habitat.

This legislative rejection of precious objects of art in the form of antique ivory is unacceptable, particularly where there is a documented provenance or an expert can establish the authenticity of the object being over 100 years old.

In order to facilitate the oversight of antique ivory, there should be a regulatory framework consistent with federal law.

The notion of a 20 percent ivory-content standard is extremely difficult to administer in a fair and equitable fashion, which as a matter of public policy is essential to the attainment of any perceived objective.

Further, antique whale tooth scrimshaw is 100 percent ivory in its original art form unless it is mounted on a presentation stand or possibly as bookends. Other examples such as antique chess pieces also are 100 percent ivory.

The de minimis standard for compliance is far too sweeping and unworkable, regardless of the threshold percentage.

Further, this approach accomplishes no objective toward the goal of eliminating the illicit poaching of ivory.

The current proposals in the Legislature may make the proponents feel good, but will not save an elephant or any other source of ivory in today’s wildlife habitat. We have to do better in the interest of all concerned.

For discussion purposes, let’s assume there is a full ivory exemption for Native Hawaiian traditional cultural practices (possibly various Asian cultures as well), all piano and other musical instruments, ivory received through an inheritance and ivory used for educational and other scientific purposes through established museums or educational institutions.

For the balance, which is largely antique dealers and private collectors, establish a registration process. There would be a rebuttable presumption in benefit of the owner that this ivory was over 100 years old.

Upon request or at the time of transfer to a new owner, it would be necessary to verify the item was over 100 years old through documented provenance or written authentication by an expert.