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- Publication:
- Fort Worth Star-Telegrami
- Location:
- Fort Worth, Texas
- Issue Date:
- Page:
- 130
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I Section Paged Fort Worth Star-Telegram Sunday December 61992 4 4 I GOING AIERROAD 1000 plants and animals banned for products that come from alligators and their crocodile or caiman relatives and that includes those cute little clutch bags from Paris that hold a pack of cigarettes and cost $2500 "You're dealing with 29 different species" says Onda "and only five are legal So unless you've got some expertise you're not going to know We generally advise people just to stay away from anything made from crocodile alligator or caiman" Travelers howl when customs agents seize endangered-species products By MIKE SHOUP KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS With more than 1000 species of plants and animals banned from US trade the frustrations of shop: ping abroad may culminate when you try to bring back what you've purchased It's a common scenario: Incensed traveler arguing with obdurate US Customs agent who is about to confiscate something that shouldn't have been bought in the first place If it's on the threatened or endan': gered list and 1000 species make a very long list you're going to lose the argument the product and possibly the last of your travel dollars in the form of a fine So why do people think they can bring in ivory carvings leopard skins turtle shells alligator handbags snakeskin boots or any number of products made from endangered species? a mixture of ignorance and unscrupulous dealers" says Robert Onda import-export program co ordinator for the US Fish and Wildlife Service at John Kennedy International Airport in New York "People don't know that items sold legally in other countries are proh ibited items here and the vendors are obviously not going to say 'Here I'll sell you this piece for hundreds of dollars but you can't bring it back to the US' What else? A lot of lizard and snakeskin products Most wild-bird feathers (as well as the birds in many cases) Any and all ivory All furs from spotted cats such as leopards as well as furs from many other wild cats and from polar bears or marine mammals such as seals Coral in many cases And plants also many species of orchids and cactuses for example What's a smart shopper to do? The answer seems pretty simple: When in doubt don't buy Oi ask before you go before you go Onda spent his early years with the Fish and Wildlife Service on the line as an inspector so he has seen or heard it all from the expensive or bizarre products to the threats or excuses from people who think that they have the right to bring back what they've bought "It's probably one of the more volatile situations" says Onda "We come into play after a long flight from somewhere overseas People are tired it's the end of their vacation Their nerves are on edge Maybe they've waited a long time in immigration or customs and now here comes this individual telling them that something they've laid out good money for is going to be taken "We've all had confrontations at one time or another" he says' "I'm going to call my lawyer I'm going to have your job Do you know who I It goes with the territory" Faced with confiscation travelers occasionally take out their frustration and disappointment on the product Onda recalls the man with an illegal sea-turtle shell the most frequent contraband from the Caribbean who said 'If! can't have it neither can you' and then put it on the floor and jumped on it until it shattered On another occasion he says agents were about to confiscate a woman's hat which was made from the skin of a spotted cat (All spotted-cat products are illegal) "She just calmly reached in her purse and pulled out scissors" recalls Onda "and she cut it into a few pieces and said 'Now I feel better you can have it back'" Among the more memorable items Onda has seen coming out of bags and suitcases are stuffed baby alligators dressed to the nines and holding umbrellas or canes and freeze-dried toads playing banjos It's small wonder that there are stringent wildlife import laws Yes the single biggest wildlife threat is not disease pollution or predation It's us humanity operative especially if their loss is relatively low "What we often hear is 'It's dead anyway why can't I have says Ward "but that's not the point The point is that by purchasing the product you're creating the market" And that includes not just the shell but also turtle-leather products such as boots or bags shell products like jewelry or combs cosmetic lotions made from turtle oil even turtle soup Other favorites of tourists with questionable tastes say customs and wildlife service officials are whole turtles stuffed and mounted and ready for hanging over the fireplace lacquered sea turtle heads with fake emerald eyes or large turtle shells with Caribbean sunsets painted on them No fewer than 27 species of turtles are on the current list as endangered or threatened which makes it very likely that anything related to turtles is not going to make it home The same fate is even more likely Habitat destruction is primarily to blame and after that comes what we're talking about today trade commercial exploitation And the main offender? The largest consumer of these products? The United States of course You might think that you're too smart to get caught purchasing an illegal product but it can easily happen especially when what you're buying is not the endangered species itself but something made from it "The big thing we find are tourists who go to the islands and buy sea-turtle shells or products made from the shells" says Andrea Ward the Wildlife Service's senior resident agent for Delaware and Maryland who works out of the port in Baltimore "They buy a shell for a minimal amount sometimes under $20 at a roadside stand and just automatically assume that because it's being sold they can bring it back" When the item is confiscated says Ward people are generally co For a copy of the brochure Buyer Beware or Facts About Federal Wildlife Laws write the US Fish and Wildlife Service Publications 130 Arlington Square Washington DC 20240 or phone the public affairs office at the service's regional canter in Boston (617) 965-5100 Ext 206 t) Pr)10 exellusiv an :11 COWMAN WNW! 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To I.
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- Pages Available:
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- Years Available:
- 1902-2024