Very few people fully understand the laws governing the trade in taxidermy and natural history specimens - of those that try, many are confused over the technicalities. Some members of the public are unaware that certain rules even exist – others think the trade is banned. Those in the trade itself such as taxidermists and dealers are more often than not at a complete loss - and what with all the confusion over Brexit, the impending Ivory ban along with ever changing policies regarding stricter measures on certain species, the antiques market is in a state of confusion.

Unfortunately the law makers and those that administer them compound the issue with legal jargon or issue guidance notes that can be misleading or leave many questions unanswered. Added to this, the Enforcement authorities are looking to protect their existence and will happily pick you up on the slightest mistake – therefore knowing what you are doing is paramount.

Recent court cases have included the sale of “un-worked” ivory: the sale of other “un-worked items such as Tiger claws (loose or in Jewellery), horns/antlers of Annex “A” species: un-carved Whale teeth etc: Taxidermy specimens PURCHASED and SOLD without licenses - ironically if you check out some on-line auction sites there are plenty of items up for sale that are questionable.

Established Auction houses can easily miss the less than obvious item resulting in a “paper” transgression but in our experience those that have a good reputation would rather not lose it and contrary to the belief of some enforcement authorities those that blatantly break the law are few & far between.

Those traders that feel that they require that safety net given by our service, have long been involved with our membership and will hopefully continue to do so - for members of the public however, we are intending to take a back seat and enjoy our semi-retirement - so with immediate effect we are reducing our public exposure to a few basic pages and will be devoting our time to our members only. We therefore ask non members to direct their questions to the law makers and those who administer it. Full contact details can be found on the USEFUL CONTACTS page of this site.

The pages that remain will we hope give you enough info to get you started on the right road by guiding you through the basics.

THIS WEBSITE IS CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED

Taxidermylaw Members can still contact us as usual by e-mail or phone. An enlarged website for members will be available soon