Thursday, May 8, 2008

Snakeskin: Banned in California

Posted by Double Y at 2:17 PM
This is prolly old news to some of you but its new to me since I just moved here last year. Anyway, I was drooling over a pair of Louboutin's at BlueFly, it was the Black phyton Hung up pumps and it costs $660.00 which is discounted price from $850.00. I was about to hit the add to shopping cart button when I read the note: Due to California law, we can not ship this item.

Uhh.. I didnt know that there is a law against it.. So I googled about it and found this old news article ( 2000) from NY Times..

Thought this might be interesting to all of us....

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Banned in California: This Season's Snakeskin


By MONICA CORCORAN
Published: March 19, 2000

IN New York, animal rights campaigners are protesting the use of leather and skins as inhumane. In Beverly Hills, shopping rights militants are outraged for a different reason: they can't find a pair of those sexy python pumps anywhere.

Neither Gucci, Barneys nor Chanel stock the popular snakeskin in their Los Angeles stores. In California, the sale of python skin or parts has been outlawed since 1970, around the same time the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 was being discussed and formulated. Importing or shipping the species or products made from it into the state for commercial purposes is illegal. Violators face a maximum fine of $5,000 or a six-month stay at a county jail.

How to overcome such obstacles to achieving the reptile look has become the talk of the West Coast's fashion elite. One wardrobe stylist orders from Gucci in Hawaii, which will mail it to 90210 and neighboring ZIP codes. Other shoppers fly to Las Vegas. It's legal to bring your own python across state lines, as long as you don't plan to sell it.

''You can carry or wear your python shoes into California,'' said Jack Edwards, assistant chief of patrol at the Department of Fish and Game in Sacramento. ''But you can't bring in a purse made of mountain lion,'' he added. ''That's illegal.'' (That animal has a special protective status.)

Some stores appear to be unaware of these statutes. At the Beverly Hills Fendi -- the designer of the coveted python baguette -- a member of the sales staff directed this reporter to the store's Bal Harbor, Fla., boutique, which she said would mail the $1,695 purse to the customer's private Los Angeles address. When told that shipping snakeskin into California is illegal, a Fendi saleswoman in Bal Harbor said with a lilting Italian accent: ''No? Maybe I have heard something about this? Really? I should check on that.''

California is the only state with a ban on all types of python, though only Indian python is now on the endangered species list. Mr. Edwards seemed unaware of the current fashion crisis the state's regulations had caused.

''I haven't heard anything about python being popular,'' he said. ''Right now, we're seeing a lot of illegal activities with abalone and bear parts.''

Abalone is a snail-like delicacy that fetches $100 per pound on the black market. Bear gall bladders are believed to have the same effect as Viagra and sell for $2,000 to $4,000. Gucci's hip-hugging python pants could have a similar effect for only $3,650.
 

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