Here are some good hard quotes & links for the doubters.
http://files.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/WILD_Dog_Cat_Protection_Act.pdf
The HSUS sucks, they don't save animals - the very first line of this document is misleading (2 million dogs and cats are slaughtered each year, in shelters, due to abandonment, overpopulation, and neglect, and all these armchair "well meaning anti's" turning their backs on helping them - actually it's more like 8 million - they are not dying for their fur/pelts!)
Quote from Federal Law (dog and cat protection act?):
(b) PROHIBITIONS-
(1) IN GENERAL- It shall be unlawful for any person to--
(B) introduce into interstate commerce, manufacture for introduction into interstate commerce, sell, trade, or advertise in interstate commerce, offer to sell, or transport or distribute in interstate commerce in the United States, any dog or cat fur product.
(2) EXCEPTION- This subsection shall not apply to the importation, exportation, or transportation, for noncommercial purposes, of a personal pet that is deceased, including a pet preserved through taxidermy.
The exception covers a PERSONAL PET - meaning, it has to be your pet, you better have some record of it... and you cannot sell it or buy it if it wasn't your PERSONAL PET...
It is legal to possess your personal pet. Even if it's dog or cat fur (such as your stuffed Fluffy).
A taxidermy product is manufactured (drop all the "art" from your brains for now, we're talking law, not creativity). A deer cape mounted on a form is a manufactured fur product. Thus a cat cape mounted on a form is a manufactured fur product. Thus selling or buying a mounted cat is illegal.
Full text of FPLA compliance here:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/furalrt.htm
Full text of FPLA here:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/textile/rr-fur.htm
If you guys aren't motivated by words to go get Mandy and Scott and whoever else is trafficking in dog and cat fur, including a couple of people who have been warned, on this site - here's something for your wallets:
(from the same dog & cat protection act doc)
(5) REWARD- The designated authority shall pay a reward of not less than $500 to any person who furnishes information that establishes or leads to a civil penalty assessment, debarment, or forfeiture of property for any violation of this section or any regulation issued under this section.
They are free to sell moose poop, cow fetuses, frog's legs, pregnant rats, dog and cat skulls and bones, and SKINNED cats and dogs for dissection and medical purposes... but NOT dog and cat fur and that INCLUDES tanned skins, cat's feet, dog's legs, coats, etc.
IF they have a business license and IF they are legitimate and PAY TAXES.
Interesting side-notes:
Law Note: If you assert it's a hybrid you had better be willing to send in hairs to prove it. If they find it's not a hybrid... not good!
Law Note: State law may be more restrictive, i.e. it's obviously illegal interstate, but if your intrastate law is more restrictive them you probably can't even sell it in-state. Like trying to sell a bear rug within California - a strict no-no.
(6) DOG OR CAT FUR PRODUCT- The term `dog or cat fur product' means any item of merchandise which consists, or is composed in whole or in part, of any dog fur, cat fur, or both.
BUT... here's a good one (quotes from said act)
> (5) DOG FUR- The term `dog fur' means the pelt or skin of any animal of the species Canis familiaris.
Dogs are Canis LUPUS Familiaris as of 1992
it is I guess thus legal to sell dog fur, as the law has them defined incorrectly. You better have a CITES tag/permit for that doggy in the window though, as we all know what Canis Lupus really is...
For a long time I have wondered if dog and cat hair - just the hair - a spinning/roving fiber (like wool) - is legal to sell, I see people selling "hand knit shed Golden Retriever / angora wool blend hats" on eBay and I want to tell them it's illegal, but they are in Australia. It's just the hair, no leather involved. "Things that make you go hmmm..."
> (1) CAT FUR- The term `cat fur' means the pelt or skin of any animal of the species Felis catus.
There are several breeds of domestic cat commonly kept. Most are F. Catus but there are some which are a hybrid. (Bengal, Serengeti, Pixie-Bob / Chausie)
Does the law cover a hybrid? A very commonly raised hybrid is the Bengal: F. Catus x F. Bengalensis. In the F1-F2 the Bengal pelt is just gorgeous and looks a lot like F. Bengalensis BUT as a hybrid it falls into a legal grey area. If you have not seen a Bengal, go check them out, they are amazing (and as domestics, they breed like cats - very fast!)
If the law does not cover hybrids (such as the guys skirting CITES by selling "brush wolves" - small wolves or coyote x ___ that can pass as coyotes), then all those gorgeous Lippi Cat (aka Bengal) garments I've seen are legal.
Again: (this time a quote from the FPLA compliance doc)
"In addition, the Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000 prohibits importing, exporting, selling, trading, advertising, transporting, or distributing any products made with dog or cat fur. California criminal law also prohibits selling dog and cat fur in that state."
This has been in effect since 1998 -
> 16 CFR Part 301
> As amended, effective March 16, 1998
The Internet was around before 1998, so you should know this by now!
It's illegal.
Spay and neuter, if you please.
Put this in the archives, it is worth it...
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I know who sold them and what they were sold for! I advised the individual that laws had possibly been broken. Dagnabbit I was totally wrong!
The wiskers were infact legal to sell, since the cat is a hybred, yep just happens to be a cross-breed.
A hybrid what? I thought it was a white tiger, although I'm aware they have managed to cross lions/tigers, etc.
Soooo, how much did they sell for? Don't tease us with this tidbit!
get my name confused with whomever Scott you are talking about.I also feel to post such stuff you should put your name on it!