Mike Ruslander, on Feb 22 2009, 06:30 PM, said:
I'm not even sure you can own them legally, much less sell them. I don't know the laws in Austria.
It's true that in the 60's, most Sperm Whale teeth sold in the U.S. were harvested off the sea floor, I don't think the U.S. govt. makes a distinction.
Read this:
"There are a lot of people out there who are still being looked at by our agency," said NOAA law enforcement spokesman Mark Oswell. "Every door we open leads down another passageway."
Because sperm whales are protected as an endangered species, trafficking any part of them without federal approval violates several laws aimed at discouraging poachers.
Violating a federal anti-smuggling law or the Lacey Act against trafficking illegally obtained wildlife are felonies punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, said Chris Hall, the Philadelphia-based assistant U.S. attorney who is handling the case.
Violating the Endangered Species Act or the Marine Mammal Protection Act is a misdemeanor.
NOAA agent Mike Henry, a lead investigator in the case, said trafficking sperm whale teeth is "an activity that we believe occurs a lot, but it's difficult to find and investigate."
Some people believe owning items made from endangered species is prestigious, according to Sam Wasser, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington.
"In this kind of wildlife trade, people are notorious for using these products to an extreme without any regard for the species that are at risk," Wasser said. "People can't seem to restrain themselves. ... It can quickly lead to the demise of the species."
Federal agents have searched homes and businesses in at least a half-dozen states. At the suspect's home in Oak Harbor, they seized a large whale tooth, a jaw section with four teeth, assorted ivory artifacts and tools, and baleen March 29. They also seized banking records related to the Internet auction site eBay, Seattle NOAA enforcement agent Alan Wolf wrote in search-warrant documents.
The man told agents he sold products made from endangered species parts on eBay, Wolf wrote.
That may not be illegal, however. Trading or owning endangered species parts is not generally against the law if they were harvested or found before the laws restricting them were enacted.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the speedy reply, much appreciated. I had (very recently) read the first article you were kind enough to send me when I was trying to find out what the legal situation was now regarding whales teeth. I naturally bought them in all innocence in the 70's when whaling was still legal. It probably sounds a bit hypocritical but I myself am against whaling. When I bought them I was originally told that they could have been on the floor bed any time from 1912 onwards (the latest the 1970's when the station finally closed down). It is most likely that they had been there a long time as apparently where they were found was not used in later years. (In fact whaling had been carried out off the south western Australian coast since the mid 1800's). I cannot prove they have genuine age to them, (unless there is a possible way) but what do people do with whales teeth that they can prove are known to be old?
Thanks again,
Terry - still snowing hard here, about a foot deep!!!
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