Exotic Leather And Endangered Species

[Menolly]

I was just curious if there are leathers that are a "no no" because the animal is endangered or getting there. I am a pacifist at heart but am ok with using byproduct leather. I may be naive but I have been shocked to see some items made from elephant leather. Are any leathers illegal?

[whinewine]

When herds get too large, animals need to be culled to continue to have a healthy population in relation to the amount of land available to support those herds. Otherwise, those herds will face starvation & become sickly; starvation affects ALL members of the herd, so some members must be culled so the others may live. This goes for all animals, be they deer or elephants or alligators... And btw, if an elephant is poached, it is poached for its tusks & left to rot. The poachers do NOT take the time to remove the hide & have it tanned- all they want are the tusks- nothing more. Everything else is wasted.

[bruce johnson]

Any questionable exotic you buy from a dealer is going to be tagged. These are CITES tags - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. This is currently the best system in place.

[DCKNIVES]

I would agree,any reputable dealer will have the necessary CITES tags as required . If your in doubt as to the animals status contact CITES, US Customs, or the FWC. Like said elephant is relatively abundant from culled animals, even elephant ivory is available.There is a shop just North of me that sells large amounts of ivory it obtains from estate sales and such all pre-ban stuff.One of my customers is going to Africa again and he has purchased two tags to cull two elephants.He told me he was allowed to keep the tusks only.One of the best sources to talk about skins is Henry at "Ostrich Market ", I do alot of work with him and his shop is close to mine so I do get over quite often.Dave

[Menolly]

Thanks all for the information. Sounds like the system to protect exotic animals is pretty comprehensive. I am going to stick to the cowhide and pigskins though.