Thurston County business pleads guilty to illegal sale of elephant ivory figurine

OLYMPIA - A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Police investigation, prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office (AGO), into the illegal sale of a figurine carved out of elephant ivory has resulted in a guilty plea, fine, and wildlife penalty for a Thurston County business.

Crawford Family Auctions, LLC, was sentenced May 13 in Thurston County Superior Court to two years of probation and must pay a $10,000 fine, in addition to the mandatory $2,000 criminal wildlife penalty, after pleading guilty to one second degree violation of the state's law against trafficking in covered animal species or parts, a gross misdemeanor.

Washington state law, RCW 77.15.135, known as the Washington Animal Trafficking Act (WATA) and passed by voter initiative in 2015, makes it unlawful for a person "to sell, offer to sell, purchase, trade, barter for, or distribute any covered animal species part or product." Crawford Family Auctions had been previously warned by WDFW Police in 2016 for a similar violation.

"Only with vigilant enforcement of our state law will we disrupt the global black-market trade in elephant ivory and other products from endangered or threatened species," Attorney General Nick Brown said. "Once again, our close collaboration with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has delivered justice and demonstrated that we will hold all people accountable if they engage in this illegal profiteering."

"This sentencing reflects a collaborative effort between State Fish and Wildlife Officers and the Washington State Attorney General's Office, Environmental Protection Division to combat unlawful wildlife trafficking of covered animal species," said WDFW Deputy Chief Paul Golden. "We would also like to thank California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Working together to enforce this law sends a clear message that the commercial sale and trafficking of threatened or endangered species will not be tolerated."

The investigation began in January 2025, when a WDFW Officer saw an online auction site containing items possibly made of ivory, including a listing for a "Vintage Carved Ivory Netsuke of a Witch." Netsuke are small ornamental figurines traditionally worn as part of a Japanese-style kimono and typically carved from elephant ivory or wood.

WDFW Officers executed a search warrant on the business to seize the Netsuke. The business told them it had already shipped the item to a California-based buyer who had paid $485.80. California law also prohibits the sale or purchase of elephant ivory. WDFW Officers coordinated with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to recover the Netsuke and enter it into evidence.

A California Fish and Wildlife Officer took the Netsuke to the California Wildlife Forensic Laboratory, which confirmed after several tests that the item was carved wholly from African elephant ivory.

On Feb. 18, 2026, the AGO charged Crawford Family Auctions with a felony violation for the illegal sale of elephant ivory.

Crawford Family Auctions later pleaded guilty to an Amended Information containing a second-degree WATA violation, a gross misdemeanor. In exchange for a guilty plea to the amended charge, the state and defense submitted an agreed recommendation and the judge imposed a sentence of two years of probation, a $10,000 fine, and the mandatory $2,000 criminal wildlife penalty.

WATA makes it a felony to sell, purchase, trade or distribute parts of specific endangered or vulnerable species of elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, lion, leopard, cheetah, pangolin, marine turtle, shark or ray.

A copy of the judgment and sentence is available here, and a copy of the plea statement is available here.

Photo credit: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police

WDFW Police works to protect the public's safety and to preserve, protect and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities. 

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