Ivory Art – Restore?

There seems to be a debate going on about the ethics of restoring damaged antique ivory art. The staff at Hamlin’s Restoration Studio cares deeply about the illegal poaching and wholesale killing of elephants. A moratorium on the sale and purchase of elephant ivory has been in place for decades but it seems to have done little to eradicate poaching. The question is what to do with antique ivory art that has been in homes and museums for many years. A few months ago we posed the question in a Facebook post and the responses were somewhat surprising. The majority of people thought that the ivory art should be restored and preserved for the sake of the art but a growing minority thought that the ivory should be destroyed. What do you think? Do you think antique ivory should be restored? If not, what should be done?