Ivory and a rhino skull among 5,800 items handed to RVO

Some 5,800 prohibited objects including elephant ivory have been anonymously handed in to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) over the past year, a more than fivefold increase on the previous year.

“Never before has so much been handed in,” says The Hague-based RVO, including “moving boxes with a thousand [pieces of] ivory jewellery, a rhino skull with a gunshot wound, crocodile leather bags, musical instruments and an elephant’s leg.”

The objects also included taxidermy animals such as a long-eared owl, peregrine falcon and turtles. Pictures on broadcaster NOS show ivory binoculars and crocodile leather bags.

The sale and trade of elephant ivory are strictly regulated under European CITES laws (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), with permits required for the possession and trade of protected plants or animals.

Most of the items, which can be handed in at a drop-off bin in The Hague or even by post, are destroyed to prevent them from (re)entering the illegal trade. The RVO says it uses a small number of the items for research and education.