customs - - lynx pelt

[Guest]

I live in Southern California. Some months ago, I bid on an eBay auction for a Eurasian lynx pelt from a lynx that was trapped in the Tien Shan Mountains of China. This is the same species as the Russian lynx. The seller was located in China. I was the high bidder and would have won the auction but I got nervous and retracted my bid. I feared the pelt would not clear US customs.

 

Would the pelt have cleared US customs?

 

PS. This pelt had thin fur. The lynx may have been trapped during the summer.

[AKcoyote]

If the pelt appeared to be a summer trapped one and the fur thin, that alone should have been enough reason to retract a bid.

 

I am not current on what fur types would not pass US customs, but generally the pelt of any species on the endangered species list would be seized by US customs. Some other threatened species require a CITES permit in order to be imported. I suggest doing some web searching as the info is available if you can find it.

[mailonfurs]

Any lynx pelt without CITES certificates will be confiscated.

You can try to send it with a risk without any paperwork but if they check the content of the parcel then it will definitely be confiscated and will ask for more information.

Of course as a buyer I do not think you'll be in trouble cause you can claim that you thought the seller was legit and would include all paperwork while shipping. But you might lose money or have to ask for a refund through ebay/paypal