[meteorite-list] Meteorite hunting : is it legal ?

From: dean bessey <deanbessey_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Mar 21 13:24:57 2005
Message-ID: <20050316192541.93454.qmail_at_web31510.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

You know if you want to create a website like that
there is a better way than asking list members (Where
among other things lurkers who would rather the
general public not own meteorites abound and might try
and sabotage your efforts).
I have found that embassies are very forthcoming -
although not always consistant if you ask two from the
same country.
Why not email the embassies of countries that you are
interested in and then post the email responces on
your planned website.
For the record meteorites are not "Forbiden to be
exported from Canda" (Legally anyway - even if some
members of the Canadian meteorite commuinity would
like you to believe otherwise). You can apply for an
export permit (A six month to year process) and
tehnically you should get it or get paid a reasonable
fair market value. Everybody knows about teh recent
2.3 kilo St Robert that came on the market (I can
assure you that there is at least another 30 kilos) .
I offered to apply for a permit for the owner (As a
Canadian I have a legal right to do so) but they found
a buyer in Canada instead and decided to go for it
rather than possibly get more money from an
internationbal buyer. If a canadian meteorites showed
up I know of one institution here in Canada (Assuming
that they wanted it) that would try and make a deal
with the owner over what they would sell it for and
then spend the next 6 months (The legal wait time) to
hit up doners to try and find money to but it. If they
couldent get the money would then help get the export
permit issued to you. All institutions of course
woudlent cooperate but I know of one that would.
As far as I am concerned thats the way the law should
work (Not just meteorites but artifacts and other
cultural property also).
Unfortunately there is a strong drive right now by the
governments of 5 or 6 countries that are basically
using UNESCO and the proposed UNIDROIT legislation to
basically ban the trade in anything over 50 years old
that was made by somebody who is no longer alive -
even if doing so would actually hinder the
preservation of cultural objects.
I said that the Canadian law (The way it is written on
paper anyway - keeping in mind that the constitution
of the former soviet union gave people more rights
than anybody else on earth including americans) would
be an intelligent way for other countries to make
their own cultural heritage laws.
You wont find much support for intelligent cultural
preservation laws in places like say Italy however
that is of the opinion that nobody should own objects
of antiquity and who claim as Italian governmemnt
property
all antiquities including coins that was made anywhere
that was a part of italy when it was made (Which means
that except for asian artifacts basically includes
everything made in the known word while the Roman
Empire ruled pretty much the entire known world 2000
years ago including all objects in Egypt and Bulgaria
which was ruled by Rome 2000 years ago).
Italy is not the sort of place one would go to to find
intelligent cultural propery laws - on paper or in
practice.
But Canadian laws - at least on paper (Assuming it
actually worked as the law says and I am assuming that
they would) is pretty much among the best cultural
laws anywhere in the world that actually protect
cultural property and should be a basis for all other
countries to base their cultural laws on.
That being said it would be hard to make a serious
arguement of any intelligence that meteorites have
influenced the culture of any country.
Cheers
DEAN


                
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Received on Wed 16 Mar 2005 02:25:40 PM PST