Harrisburg, United States - June 05, 2025 A sweeping undercover investigation has exposed a dark trade in wildlife parts across Pennsylvania. Humane World for Animals revealed the results of their probe into the sale of ivory and other animal parts. From January to March 2025, investigators visited over 60 locations across 27 counties. They found 383 ivory items for sale in 18 counties, including parts from elephants, hippos, and whales. The value of the items totaled nearly $38,000. Jewelry, figurines, tusk carvings, game pieces, and even a taxidermized giraffe head were among the grisly offerings. One vendor offered the giraffe mount for $6,000. Many items were mislabeled, some as bone, with no federal documentation or permits provided when requested. Whitney Teamus, senior director of investigations, called the findings "alarming" and worse than in similar stings in Connecticut and Florida. Kristen Tullo, Pennsylvania director for Humane World for Animals, said the state must not support this “cruel and senseless global trade.” Representative Leanne Krueger has introduced House Bill 994 to close legal loopholes and ban the in-state sale of items from imperiled species like giraffes and hippos. HB 994 passed the House Judiciary Committee on June 2 by a vote of 25 to 1. Krueger said Pennsylvania must join other states in ending wildlife trafficking and hold both buyers and sellers accountable. Gabe Wigtil, director of the wildlife trafficking program, warned that elephant ivory is often harvested while animals are still alive. He condemned the trade as a driver of global extinction, stating, “A trinket is not worth extinction.”