Hi there,

Apparently Thailand, due to legal loopholes and inadequate enforcement of current laws, is number 1 in trafficking of illegal ivory products. So, I guess if you wanted to you could get some, sure. But I'm glad to see you decided not to. That said;

It isn’t the material itself that is in question, but rather how it is procured.

The Ivory is illegal because poachers slaughter endangered and threatened animals to harvest their tusks for ivory. In the past, prior to the advancement of modern technology, hunting these animals was difficult and dangerous. When they were killed they were used completely. However, in the early part of the century advancements in things such as transportation and weaponry made the gathering of ivory easy, relatively safe, and highly lucrative. Yet it was these same reasons that drove several species to brink of extinction.

Many of these species are still critically endangered. Their native habitat is shrinking, the reserves are woefully underfunded and not adequately protected, and they are still very vulnerable to poachers. Ironically, the laws making ivory trafficking illegal are what drove the price and the rarity up, which in turn fuels the black market.

In short, even if people only buy a "little" ivory to make custom scales for their own personal use, the fact is that they are still buying it; that means they are contributing to the demand for it. If you buy ivory than somebody, somewhere, is going to go out tomorrow and slaughter an endangered animal to get more ivory to sell to another person... who may just want to buy a “little bit” for his own personal use.

It is a cycle that can only stop with you.

YouTube - WWF Commercial Against Ivory Trade