Quote Originally Posted by j.byars View Post
Is this "legal" skin not legal in the US?

Basically I am wondering what my rights are with this sporran now. I have decided it is too formal for what I will be wearing and was considering selling it and buying a Ferguson Britt sporran instead. Now that the sporran is here am I able to legally sell it? Would I be required for some reason to prove where it came from? Is it legally allowed to be in this country at all?
If you really want to know for absolute certainty you should consult a lawyer. Seal skin in the US, unless documented to be from before the seal skin ban (Marine Mammals Protection Act from 1972 I believe), is illegal to purchase, possess, or sell, without specific exception (such as I believe some native american tribes may have, officially sanctioned research, specificaly licensed keepers such as zoos), to the best of my knowledge. That means in short that the company who sold it to you should not have allowed its export knowingly to the US, you should not have imported it (ignorance may be bliss but it does not get you out of the law), and therefore you should not possess it. The ban they are talking about is a more recently instituted one in the EU against marketing in sealskin that allows for clearence of existing stocks but no further acquisitions of new stock.

There are several different government agencies who have different duties in enforcing the act---Fish and Game, Homeland Security, etc... There is even a stipulation in the amendments to the original act that allow for rewards of up to $2500 for informing against violators of the act, so you might not wish to advertise your situation. Wikipedia link here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_...Protection_Act

Safest bet would be to simply destroy or rid yourself of it by putting it in the trash, although no one wants to see something so valuable wasted after the fact of harvesting. But the act was intended to keep this situation from occuring, you just got lucky, or unlucky, enough to not run into a customs issue at original import. If you keep it I would wear it sparingly and only in small groups and definitely not brag about or even acknowledge any awareness that it is sealskin.