I recently was told my pet chinchillas that died 2 years ago are not legal to sell as mounts. They were given to us by a rancher because they no longer produced litters and died of infection about 6 months later. I mounted them but I was told they are a federally protected foreign species and not allowed to be sold. I can't understand why I can own one, others can ranch them, their pelts are sold as garments and I can't sell one that I owed as a mount. Can someone point me to the regs that explains this? OR at least talk me through it? CA Fish and Game does not list them as protected either. I read through their list and didn't see them.
Return to Lifesize Mammal Taxidermy Category Menu
If you read the CITES directives, it says "the domesticated form of chinchilla is not covered by the Convention" - it is NOT on CITES. That's how chinchilla coats and accessories can go internationally with no problems at all, not even a 3-177 fee! Chinchilla are one of the easiest to sell (and buy).
Chinchilla products are CA legal 110%, go to any fine furrier and ogle the coats!
Make sure you retain your documentation that the animal was a legal gift from a rancher and was domestically raised. The easiest way is to find the pelt tag from the tannery and send that with the mount. All chin pelts are tagged before tanning.
Sell the mount. Go for it. It's worth about $100 tops, maybe less if the fur has any oil in it or discoloration.
Since it was mounted by me, I didn't send it out for tanning ... did it myself. I will ask my daughter to contact the rancher for the note of the gift tho. Heck, it was 3 years ago he gave them to her and at the time we never thought we'd be mounting them so its "back-track city". Oh well. Now to see if I can argue the point with Ebay... they insist if its on the fed. list they won't take it and that's that. Sure would be nice if they got people who worked in the areas they ban so they might have a clue what is legal and what isn't. (sigh)
PJ
Chinchilla is sold all the time on FeeBay. It's non-CITES and non-ESA. They would have no right to remove your auction. You just have to make sure to be able to prove domestic ancestry.
If you can't sell it on FeeBay, sell it somewhere else. There are other places to sell stuff... really! FeeBay just doesn't want anyone to think so!
Like... try the "for sale" forum to your left.
I need to clean my coat and it is in excellant condition. It's silver fox, not the tip top of the line but, just below that. It's become off-white to it's original color and I want to clean it myself. Can you help me?