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So, I have in my posession two small hornbacks looking for a good use and some really cool elephant scrap from Springfield. The hornbacks have CITES tags and there was a single tag in the scrap bag attached to a piece of leather. So, the questions are these:

1) What do I do with the tags once the leather is used?

2) How does the tag in the bag of scrap (obviously from many differnt hides) relate to the bag?

The scenario I see playing out is such:

Place item on website or ebay for sale. Someone asks for the CITES info to authenticate the leather and ensure it was taken properly. For the hornbacks - not an issue. One tag for each full skin. For the elephant, well....

Of course, I may be overthinking and being pessimistic/paranoid as usual.

(edited to properly identify the tags as CITES tags as pointed out by Wolfsax - thanks)

Edited by JoelR

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So, I have in my posession two small hornbacks looking for a good use and some really cool elephant scrap from Springfield. The hornbacks have sites(sp?) tags and there was a single tag in the scrap bag attached to a piece of leather. So, the questions are these:

1) What do I do with the tags once the leather is used?

2) How does the tag in the bag of scrap (obviously from many differnt hides) relate to the bag?

The scenario I see playing out is such:

Place item on website or ebay for sale. Someone asks for the sites info to authenticate the leather and ensure it was taken properly. For the hornbacks - not an issue. One tag for each full skin. For the elephant, well....

Of course, I may be overthinking and being pessimistic/paranoid as usual.

No expert by any means, but my degree is actually Wildlife. I believe what you are referring to are CITES tag.

"Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Many wildlife species in trade are not endangered, but the existence of an agreement to ensure the sustainability of the trade is important in order to safeguard these resources for the future."

As for what to do about the tags and the goods, I suggest checking with USFWS and your State wildlife agency. Might be a good idea to check at least your state's wildlife page to see about exotic leather?

Hope that helps

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You are correct. I am referring to the CITES tags and have updated by original post as such. Thanks. Did not find any info regarding leather on the USWFS site (other than how to propery choose leather working gloves) and my state site was lacking as well (PA). Most info points to the CITES tags and documents for import/export so maybe I am misunderstanding the significance of the tags with regards to my use of the leather.

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Here's what I would do: It has a tag, so it's legal. Make your goods, but file the tags (maybe take picture of items created with the leather and file that with the tag and final consumer info). Then if for any reason, in the future, it comes up, you can go "here's the CITES tag" and you'll hopefully have more than enough documentation to cover yourself.

Whether that's the way to go or not, I'm not sure. Hopefully someone that works more with exotics will reply and give you more input.

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Just curious, has any one been asked for this documentation on handmade goods?

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Don't know if there is going to be a difference with leather goods, but I can tell you how it works with live specimens for the aquarium trade that are CITES listed. In the case of things like seahorses and hard corals, the exporter needs an export permit from his country, and the importer an import permit from US Fish and Wildlife. For sale of the CITES listed species within the country, there is no further need of any CITES paperwork (however, if your the importer it is good to file it). Now if your going to export the CITES listed item, you will indeed need proof of origin to get the needed export permits.

That said, it's probably worth asking Kevin at Springfield if there are any nuances with leather that you should know about.

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