A Thurston County auction company has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $12,000 in penalties after illegally selling a figurine carved from African elephant ivory in violation of Washington’s wildlife trafficking laws.
Crawford Family Auctions LLC was sentenced May 13 in Thurston County Superior Court to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine along with a mandatory $2,000 criminal wildlife penalty after pleading guilty to a second-degree violation of Washington’s law prohibiting trafficking in covered animal species or products. The offense is classified as a gross misdemeanor.
The case stems from a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife investigation into the online sale of a carved ivory Netsuke figurine that authorities later confirmed was made entirely from African elephant ivory.
Investigators said Crawford Family Auctions had previously been warned by WDFW Police in 2016 involving a similar wildlife trafficking violation, a detail that added additional context to the case.
The investigation began in January 2025 when a WDFW officer identified several items on an online auction platform that appeared to be made from ivory, including a listing described as a “Vintage Carved Ivory Netsuke of a Witch.”
Netsuke are small ornamental figurines traditionally associated with Japanese dress and are commonly carved from elephant ivory or wood.
When officers executed a search warrant to seize the figurine, investigators learned the item had already been shipped to a buyer in California after selling for $485.80.
Because California law also prohibits the sale and purchase of elephant ivory, Washington officials coordinated with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to recover the item and enter it into evidence.
A California Fish and Wildlife officer transported the figurine to the California Wildlife Forensic Laboratory, where multiple tests confirmed the Netsuke had been carved entirely from African elephant ivory.
Attorney General Nick Brown said enforcement efforts remain critical to disrupting the global illegal wildlife trade.
“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,” 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.”
WDFW Deputy Chief Paul Golden said the case reflects the importance of collaboration between agencies working to combat wildlife trafficking.
“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,” Golden said. “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 Washington Animal Trafficking Act, approved by voters in 2015, prohibits the sale, purchase, trade, barter, distribution, or offering for sale of products derived from certain endangered and vulnerable species.
The law covers products derived from elephants, rhinoceroses, tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, pangolins, marine turtles, sharks, and rays.
The Attorney General’s Office originally charged Crawford Family Auctions on Feb. 18, 2026, with a felony wildlife trafficking offense connected to the ivory sale. The company later pleaded guilty to an amended second-degree Washington Animal Trafficking Act violation, a gross misdemeanor, under an agreed recommendation between prosecutors and defense attorneys.
The case highlights the continuing role of state wildlife enforcement agencies in addressing illegal trade involving endangered species products, including elephant ivory, which remains a major component of international wildlife trafficking markets.