Elephant Hair Bracelets Legal or Illegal to import into the US.

Jim

I believe they are as long as they are not from Mozambique. No piece nor part of an elephant from Moz can be imported unless the cites laws have changed from last year.

illegal unless you hunted elephant.

They opened my trophy crates and removed a couple of ones that I had purchased in Namibia. The dip and pack guys had actually listed them on the packing slip.
I wouldn't be too concerned carrying a couple of them home. Just don't brag about them to customs.

Singleshot03,
A client that hunted with me in June, from Indiana, bought one here in Port Elizabeth. He wore it from the time he started his trip, and kept it on until he got home without any problems. Just keep keep it on your wrist and I doubt that anybody will notice anything, especially if you're wearing a jacket or something.

Best Regards
Marius Goosen

"imported" about 20 of them for gifts last summer didn't know any better. No one asked.

Elephant are protected by CITES Appendix 1 - this means that any part of an elephant can only be legally owned under cover of a CITES permit.

A hunter will not be issued a license if a CITES permit has not been secured prior to the start of the hunt and forwarded to the outfitter; any part/s of the hunted animal retained as a trophy (bracelets included) have to be included in the trophy list which will be included in the CITES export permit.

If the hunter wants to follow the law to the letter, the bracelets made for him/her in camp should be forwarded with the rest of the trophies once the hunt has ended and trophies inspected and verified by the relevant authorities.

In a nutshell, all those who wear their recently acquired bracelet from the elephant they just shot are technically breaking the law.

I think you'll find that most sold in the tourist shops are giraffe hair even though they call them elephant hair bracelets.

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:
Elephant are protected by CITES Appendix 1 - this means that any part of an elephant can only be legally owned under cover of a CITES permit.

A hunter will not be issued a license if a CITES permit has not been secured prior to the start of the hunt and forwarded to the outfitter; any part/s of the hunted animal retained as a trophy (bracelets included) have to be included in the trophy list which will be included in the CITES export permit.

If the hunter wants to follow the law to the letter, the bracelets made for him/her in camp should be forwarded with the rest of the trophies once the hunt has ended and trophies inspected and verified by the relevant authorities.

In a nutshell, all those who wear their recently acquired bracelet from the elephant they just shot are technically breaking the law.

I just carried 15 or so in my jacket pocket.

quote:

Originally posted by Indy:

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:
Elephant are protected by CITES Appendix 1 - this means that any part of an elephant can only be legally owned under cover of a CITES permit.

A hunter will not be issued a license if a CITES permit has not been secured prior to the start of the hunt and forwarded to the outfitter; any part/s of the hunted animal retained as a trophy (bracelets included) have to be included in the trophy list which will be included in the CITES export permit.

If the hunter wants to follow the law to the letter, the bracelets made for him/her in camp should be forwarded with the rest of the trophies once the hunt has ended and trophies inspected and verified by the relevant authorities.

In a nutshell, all those who wear their recently acquired bracelet from the elephant they just shot are technically breaking the law.

I just carried 15 or so in my jacket pocket.

So you broke the law and advertised it on an open sight.

"don't ask don't tell" has only be abolished in the Obama administration. Elsewhere is still works with frequent success.

ozhunter,

if you believe everything you read here, or anywhere on the internet, I own 100 shares of preferred stock in two chocolate mines in SW Montana I will sell you for a hundred dollars ($100) USD per share.

This is America...

Rich

PS: the word is site, "open sight" is what you have on either end of your DR.

Nothing is illegal to import into the United States -- as long as it's imported legally.

In the case of anything Elephant, that means complying with USF&WS regulations as regards CITES. A LOT of trouble for an Elephant hair bracelet.

When the knock on your door comes and the person standing in your doorway identifies himself as an agent with the USF&W service, you better hope you're wearing iron underpants. Otherwise you'll have a helluva time removing the tighty whiteys that got sucked into your anal cavity.

It hasn't, and won't, happen to me, but I know some who have had the experience and they did not like it one little bit. Choices are usually to enter a plea of guilty by signing documents of admission and paying a fine, or refuse and be booked on federal charges and face a US Magistrate to enter your "not guilty" plea, pending a trial date. USF&W doesn't make house calls unless they have all the evidence in place prior to knocking. If they come for a visit, they have you cold. And never forget that lying to a federal officer is a separate offense in itself.

As some have indicated, it's not worth trying to be slick. If you shot the Ele, the bracelets are legally yours, if imported properly; if not then you are breaking the law. Simple. And if you bought them - all 15 or 20 of them - then they are Giraffe hair. An Ele with a good tail should produce around 7 decent bracelets, in my experience.

BTW, I always love it when foreigners give Americans legal advice; even better when Americans believe them!

weird occurrence. about 25 years ago i went to the SCI San Diego Chapter annual fund raising banquet. at each place setting on the tables( all tables sat 8 people) was an elephant hair bracelet sitting in the middle of the dinner plate as a souvenir. i had never been to Africa, figured i would never go to Africa but it seemed like an unusual gift so i took mine and my wife's. NO ONE ELSE AT THE TABLE WANTED THEIRS SO I TOOK THEM TOO. the 8 bracelets lasted me quite while even though i never took them off while showering, surfing, diving etc.( hell, what did i know!!!!) they all gradually fell apart from the abuse but it was another 12 years after i got them before my first African safari and i began to get an inkling of what i misused and destroyed. STUPID ME!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
weird occurrence. about 25 years ago i went to the SCI San Diego Chapter annual fund raising banquet. at each place setting on the tables( all tables sat 8 people) was an elephant hair bracelet sitting in the middle of the dinner plate as a souvenir. i had never been to Africa, figured i would never go to Africa but it seemed like an unusual gift so i took mine and my wife's. NO ONE ELSE AT THE TABLE WANTED THEIRS SO I TOOK THEM TOO. the 8 bracelets lasted me quite while even though i never took them off while showering, surfing, diving etc.( hell, what did i know!!!!) they all gradually fell apart from the abuse but it was another 12 years after i got them before my first African safari and i began to get an inkling of what i misused and destroyed. STUPID ME!!!!

jdollar:

That was 25 years ago, when the CITES administration was still in its 'teething' stage, supporting signatories were fewer, etc. - times have changed since then.

Don't worry, there are hardly any real elephant hair bracelets anymore - 99,9 per cent are made from plastic. In South Africa and probably not only there you'll find them in their hundreds at every street corner. Where should all those dead elephants have come from?

Being an "old school" kind of guy...I've always held to the notion that the only people who should be wearing a bracelet made from the tail hairs of an elephant are the guy who killed the elephant,or someone who "slept with" him.( slept with being a euphemism for..well, you know)
I have no notions about giraffe-hair protocols. you're on your own there.

Fujotupu has it dead right.... as usual!

quote:

Originally posted by Indy:

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:
Elephant are protected by CITES Appendix 1 - this means that any part of an elephant can only be legally owned under cover of a CITES permit.

A hunter will not be issued a license if a CITES permit has not been secured prior to the start of the hunt and forwarded to the outfitter; any part/s of the hunted animal retained as a trophy (bracelets included) have to be included in the trophy list which will be included in the CITES export permit.

If the hunter wants to follow the law to the letter, the bracelets made for him/her in camp should be forwarded with the rest of the trophies once the hunt has ended and trophies inspected and verified by the relevant authorities.

In a nutshell, all those who wear their recently acquired bracelet from the elephant they just shot are technically breaking the law.

I just carried 15 or so in my jacket pocket.

Just curious: when you returned to the states and you filled out your Customs Declaration form, and they asked the question "are you bringing in any wildlife/animal parts or products?" Yes/No? Which box did you tic????

from what i understand: had you ticked "Yes" they would have inspected you & would have either confiscated the braclets, or confiscated & fined you. If you ticked "NO", (AND they happened to pick you for a spot inspection) and discovered them; then you are doubly in for it for smuggling contraband wildlife products PLUS making false statements to federal agency...

you got lucky.

I have one elephant hair bracelet from each elephant I have shot. When returning to the US I have declared them on my customs form. The forms have been checked by customs and they have never questioned my declaration. I suspect that they get so many plastic bracelets declared as elephant bracelets that they just don't worry about it anymore. More trouble for them then it is worth.

465H&H

quote:

Originally posted by 465H&H:
I have one elephant hair bracelet from each elephant I have shot. When returning to the US I have declared them on my customs form. The forms have been checked by customs and they have never questioned my declaration. I suspect that they get so many plastic bracelets declared as elephant bracelets that they just don't worry about it anymore. More trouble for them then it is worth.

465H&H

465H&H:

I doubt it - you probably found someone who was either clueless of CITES regs.; inexpert in telling a fake from a real one or just didn't give a rat's ass.

All you need is to tangle with a PETA supporting customs officer who when reading 'Elephant' hits the button for Fish & Wildlife to inspect and your misfortune to get landed with a jacked up one - in your case, if you have papers to prove your were on a legal elephant hunt might just get away with a lenient admonition for not having the proper export papers or you might not.

Someone had their Leopard confiscated not so long ago because of an 'expired' CITES export permit - just goes to show!

quote:

Originally posted by Don Edwards:
Being an "old school" kind of guy...I've always held to the notion that the only people who should be wearing a bracelet made from the tail hairs of an elephant are the guy who killed the elephant,or someone who "slept with" him.( slept with being a euphemism for..well, you know)
I have no notions about giraffe-hair protocols. you're on your own there.

Don I'm old as well but not old fashioned, so have only one Elephant hair bracelet that came from an elephant that I fired on, and that elephant was not mine! My friend who did own that elephant gave me the bracelet from his elephant! That being said, I have several that are souvenirs of trips to Africa, and I consider them as African artifacts just like the little axes, and spears, and carvings for display as objects of interest in my African collection. I also own scrimshawed whale’s teeth that I did not harvest, Whale bone handled ULU knives from Alaska that I did not harvest, and a Colt 1911 .45 with pistol with elephant Ivory grips that I did not harvest. The difference is, I don’t tell people I did harvest them, but that they are just very nice things to have. All are legal as Pre-ban of gifts brought in legally and given to me.

IMO, the deceit is when those things are described to others as trophies from animals you have taken. Otherwise they simply represent a place you love, and if offered that way to others are no different than you wearing leather that you did not kill!

As long as proper disclosure is offered, if asked, I see absolutely nothing wrong in having and wearing these things.

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:

quote:

Originally posted by 465H&H:
I have one elephant hair bracelet from each elephant I have shot. When returning to the US I have declared them on my customs form. The forms have been checked by customs and they have never questioned my declaration. I suspect that they get so many plastic bracelets declared as elephant bracelets that they just don't worry about it anymore. More trouble for them then it is worth.

465H&H

465H&H:

I doubt it - you probably found someone who was either clueless of CITES regs.; inexpert in telling a fake from a real one or just didn't give a rat's ass.

All you need is to tangle with a PETA supporting customs officer who when reading 'Elephant' hits the button for Fish & Wildlife to inspect and your misfortune to get landed with a jacked up one - in your case, if you have papers to prove your were on a legal elephant hunt might just get away with a lenient admonition for not having the proper export papers or you might not.

Someone had their Leopard confiscated not so long ago because of an 'expired' CITES export permit - just goes to show!

If that is the case then I have run into nine such agents on nine different flights. The worst that would happen is that they would confiscate the bracelets as long as you had declared them. Try to hide them or not declare them and all bets are off.

465H&H

quote:

Originally posted by fujotupu:

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
weird occurrence. about 25 years ago i went to the SCI San Diego Chapter annual fund raising banquet. at each place setting on the tables( all tables sat 8 people) was an elephant hair bracelet sitting in the middle of the dinner plate as a souvenir. i had never been to Africa, figured i would never go to Africa but it seemed like an unusual gift so i took mine and my wife's. NO ONE ELSE AT THE TABLE WANTED THEIRS SO I TOOK THEM TOO. the 8 bracelets lasted me quite while even though i never took them off while showering, surfing, diving etc.( hell, what did i know!!!!) they all gradually fell apart from the abuse but it was another 12 years after i got them before my first African safari and i began to get an inkling of what i misused and destroyed. STUPID ME!!!!

jdollar:

That was 25 years ago, when the CITES administration was still in its 'teething' stage, supporting signatories were fewer, etc. - times have changed since then.

you are absolutely right. times have certainly changed. i have often wondered where the banquet committee got 700-800 bracelets back then. i assume it was from large scale culling operations in Kruger Park or something similar. i sure wouldn't try to bring( smuggle) one back now from Africa. you could tell these were real hair because of the flaws in each strand and i seriously doubt anyone was using giraffe hair when elephant hair was readily available. a lot changes in 25 years. i had NO idea that they were supposed to be a personal momento for the guy who shot the ele( hell, i had never shot anything bigger than a mule deer!)