Tidgy's Dad Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Well, i did hear a while ago that Morocco were thinking of becoming more serious on their 'cultural heritage' laws. I hope this is just an isolated case from the Spanish side and not the beginning of a trend. https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2020/01/291089/spanish-airport-moroccan-fossils/ 7 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 It may be a follow up from this, but it seems to have been the Spanish who acted, not the Moroccans. https://enactafrica.org/research/trend-reports/moroccos-surging-trade-in-fossils 2 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 If Moroccan authorities decided to prosecute every tourist who buys fossils from vendors in Morocco when they leave the country with their purchases, what would be the impact on tourism? If they decided to ban the export of all fossils, regardless of their common-ness, what would it cost the Moroccan economy? Maybe they could fill their museums with thousands of Geesops, while ruining the livelihood of the people who dig up/prepare/sell fossils to tourists and collectors. I have no problem with protecting actually rare/scientifically valuable specimens, but a blanket prosecution of the fossil trade will (I think) have a bad impact on the country. Don 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 35 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said: If Moroccan authorities decided to prosecute every tourist who buys fossils from vendors in Morocco when they leave the country with their purchases, what would be the impact on tourism? If they decided to ban the export of all fossils, regardless of their common-ness, what would it cost the Moroccan economy? Maybe they could fill their museums with thousands of Geesops, while ruining the livelihood of the people who dig up/prepare/sell fossils to tourists and collectors. I have no problem with protecting actually rare/scientifically valuable specimens, but a blanket prosecution of the fossil trade will (I think) have a bad impact on the country. Don For sure it will. I have posted this before : https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/200902/morocco.s.trilobite.economy.htm And that was 10 years ago, it's got to be a lot more people employed and money earned today. But here the warning I gave is perhaps aimed more at people entering or leaving Spain with fossils. They seem to be taking Moroccan law more seriously than perhaps the Moroccans are themselves. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 the actual crime, it seems, was failure to declare the fossils, not so much the actual possession of said fossils. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Looks like a local spanish customs issue. My guess is that the Tucson show in a couple of weeks will be full of moroccan fossils both real and fake. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone Daddy Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 The first article stated that the traveler did not declare the fossils to customs. It could have been a deck of cards or a pack of cigarettes. If you don't declare something, you are breaking the law. That's probably what drew the increased scrutiny and legal jeopardy. If he/she had declared the fossils, they might have sailed right through customs without any problems. Perhaps the guilty party was trying to evade import duties on the value of the items. Morocco has long been debating a change in the laws regarding cultural properties. Meteorites recently came under the microscope and changes were made to the laws (although export is still legal - there is just more paperwork now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinosaur man Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 I’m guessing in the next upcoming weeks fossil dealers will be selling a lot of Morocco material. After hearing about this trying to make as much money as they can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 I think, and hope, that this is just an isolated incident. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taj Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 16 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said: entering or leaving Spain with fossils. They seem to be taking Moroccan law more seriously than perhaps the Moroccans are themselves. I think you nailed it ... Not the first exemple of spanich zeal, all the more heated up by their extremely restrictive laws ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 On the bright side, they can't prosecute you if it is a fake fossil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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