Users have requested a general guide or sticky regarding legality and laws. This is challenging because this sub has reach worldwide and legality varies significantly depending on location.
With that in mind, below is an extremely general guide to get users on a track towards learning about what is legal to collect, possess, modify, transport, sell, and buy. Being hyper-specific in this guide to all areas is not realistic.
At the end of the day, please bear in mind the onus is on you, the possessor of the item in question, to learn the legality of the item. Look it up yourself first, try to gather information, then ask the sub. Information presented here and by users is guidance and not to be taken as legal guidance.
If getting irrelevant information for your country from other users is bothersome, please ensure you give your location in the title and body of your post. Users may still get it wrong; please give them grace.
A VERY GENERAL GUIDE:
It is up to you to know the laws of your respective location regarding animal remains. This includes picking up items, possessing them, receiving them as a buyer, and as a seller.
This is a world-wide sub with a significant portion of members being from the USA. You may find users' responses to be USA-centric as a result.
Please put your location in your post. This helps users respond best and may (may) avoid users sharing information on laws that are not relevant to you.
Because YOU are ultimately responsible for looking up your area's laws, please take the time to search online. Laws vary by country, state, province, etc. For most locations, your area's division of wildlife services or hunting department tends to be most helpful. Animal control, pest removals, or wildlife catchers/rehabbers generally cannot answer legality questions. When speaking with a representative, we recommend recording their full name for your future reference.
We cannot possibly outline all laws for all areas here.
However, below is a list of laws that have far-reaching legal standing.
MBTA:
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 ("MBTA"): Read more at this link (via the USA's Fish and Wildlife Service). The MBTA has implications for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia. For outside of the USA, please look into the country's version of the MBTA which may have a different name.
- A list of birds NOT PROTECTED via the MBTA is found at this link. It is generally easier to look up legal birds compared to illegal birds, as the number of legal birds is less.
- Laws surrounding birds typically also apply to nests, eggs, feathers, and remains regardless of if found dead, nest empty, shells empty, etc.
CITES:
The Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): In short, CITES is an international agreement and system of identifying and protecting vulnerable or endangered animals. CITES-protected animals can require special permits to harvest, hunt, buy, sell, move over state or country lines, and more. Some CITES-protected animals cannot be possessed in any form. Either can apply to creatures found already dead, hunted, etc.
- Information about CITES in general can be found here.
- An overview of CITES "Appendices" ("levels") is here.
- An index of CITES species can be found here and can be looked up by keyword.
Notes on Sub Policies:
Please note that flippancy towards legality ("I don't care, I found it..."), blatant illegal acts ("How do I sell this without getting in trouble?"), and similar are not tolerated on this sub and can result in post/comment removal and/or being banned. This includes helping or advising someone knowingly regarding an illegal act.
It can be annoying at times to see people constantly asking for or giving information about legality. It is the nature of this sub. If it is bothersome to you, then this sub may not be a good fit for you.
Be kind if someone gives you information on legality. It is meant in good faith.
Additionally, many countries' legal governing bodies regarding animal parts are present in this sub. It is wise to remember that posting incriminating things here is unwise. If you are instructed to return animal parts to the wild or dispose of something, seriously consider doing so.
Specific to the USA:
This subreddit has a significantly higher number of users in the United States compared to elsewhere. For this reason, additional resources for the USA can be found below:
- Amphibians, reptiles, etc. tend to be protected or restricted in states via the Lacey Act. https://www.fws.gov/law/lacey-act
- Bat species are commonly protected in the USA. Information can be found here. https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/report/species-listings-by-tax-group?statusCategory=Listed&groupName=Mammals&total=80
Note: many bat species are imported from countries with lax protection laws: these bats are unsustainably sourced or poached and buying them is discouraged. Rabies is a real threat: leave any bat you encounter alone!
- Marine mammals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and others. More information can be found via NOAA's website. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species-directory/marine-mammals
- The Endangered Species Act for the USA focuses on protected animals and can be viewed here. https://www.fws.gov/law/endangered-species-act
Please forgive formatting errors or typos. The OP, Mod Meowza, wanted to get this posted but doesn't have a great device for doing so at the moment. They will be fixed when Meowza is back home. Thank you for your grace.
