Love Caribbean-style sunglasses? They most likely are made with hawksbill turtle shell. Perhaps a colorful carved statuette of a sea animal? If it’s made of coral, you can be fined for purchasing it. Natural leather products, such as a purse, shoes or belts? If the product is made from endangered species such as caiman or crocodile, you may receive jail time along with a hefty fine.

Most tourists assume that if a product is for sale, it is legal for purchase. Many are learning the hard way that this simply isn’t the case. “Just because you find an item for sale does not mean it is legal for import,” MSU’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife warns. Thousands of tourists find their purchases confiscated at U.S. Customs each year, and the really unlucky ones sometimes will be punished with fines or more.

Most destination gift shops do not openly admit that their products may be considered contraband to a tourist’s home country; some may not even be aware. International laws protecting endangered species tend to punish the buyer as they transport a product across international borders and back through customs at their home airports. Sellers often are not regulated in their home countries, and penalties for selling products made from endangered species often are not enough to convince them to quit. Therefore, the onus of knowledge often rests with the buyer.

The Caribbean is home to six of the world’s sea turtle species and 14 percent of the world’s coral reefs. One-third of the species found on the Caribbean islands are found nowhere else on earth. As a result, many Caribbean nations protect their wildlife with both domestic and international protection laws, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, the law under which tourists are often punished for importing the souvenirs. CITES allows some importation of wildlife products by requesting a permit; tourists, however, rarely realize the need to obtain one.
Many argue that tourists have enough to research when going abroad, and that worrying about the legality of the souvenirs they purchase should not be one of these worries. It also seems that the information they gather is flawed. A review of tourist guidebooks and Web pages can be shocking and misleading; many of the guidebooks specifically mention purchasing illegal souvenirs. It is no wonder that, with advice like this, tourists are confused about what is legal for purchase and what isn’t.

Tourists should know that products such as caviar, live animals and all sea turtle products always will be illegal to import back to the United States without proper permits. In addition, many leather products, corals, wild bird feathers or mounted birds, and certain orchids and cacti can be illegal as well. Tourists always should ask vendors whether the products they intend to buy are made out of these materials and whether the souvenirs will be legal to import at home.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a detailed Web page listing illegal souvenirs and potential punishments for importing them. The World Wildlife Fund has set up a division known as “souvenir alert” meant to raise awareness about illegal souvenirs worldwide. Most international governments also have statements and guidelines about the trade of endangered species that tourists can look into for information. Tourists should look at these to gather up-to-date and correct information.

The threat of extinction to many species has become so great that many governments and organizations are taking extra measures to educate and punish tourists for their purchases. Tourists could be placing some of our most beautiful and unusual wildlife on the road to extinction, all for the sake of an exotic gift. Ignorance is not a defense. If in doubt, don’t buy.

Tamara Hewlett,
CARRS graduate student