Would my fossils get seized by customs in Mexico?

[Cenade]

Hi everyone,

 

I am a double national from Mexico/Canada, and I travel occasionally between both countries. In my time here in Canada I have started a small fossil collection- three sliced ammonites, three cheap trilobites, a Crinoid plate, a 3.5 inch Megalodon tooth, a piece of ammolite and another gemstone. All of these are relatively small in the 1-3 inch range, with the exception of one of the sliced ammonites being 5 inches.

 

I do not have a trip to Mexico planned solidly but I am considering going back eventually once COVID starts slowing down, and I will bring my fossil collection with me. I know and have read that I will likely have no trouble getting them into the plane in Canada as carry-on luggage save for a few inquisitive questions from airport security, but my big concern is once I arrive at Mexico. Customs in Mexico City can check your baggage on arrival before you exit the airport terminal. A few years ago on a return trip to there, I had brought a small dead branch that was curiously shaped like a hand, a customs officer picked it from my carry-on luggage and promptly destroyed it and put it in a trash bin.

 

I have tried searching on the web for whether or not it is legal to bring fossils to Mexico, but the information is either inexistent, vague, or conflicting. I have read that it is illegal to bring them OUT, as all Mexican fossils are considered cultural heritage and thus cannot be removed from the country, but bringing them IN is my concern- would they get seized by customs, or even destroyed by a careless customs official who thinks these million-year-old dead animals or the soil they are found in are bad? Any help or knowledge on this subject would be appreciated.

A thread here I previously found:

 

[Bob Saunders]

That may be a good question to ask your foreign consulate about? Asking here for legal advice is better done with the powers that be. 

[aplomado]

8 hours ago, Cenade said:

. A few years ago on a return trip to there, I had brought a small dead branch that was curiously shaped like a hand, a customs officer picked it from my carry-on luggage and promptly destroyed it and put it in a trash bin.

 

I think you answered your own question right there.

[Phevo]

1 hour ago, aplomado said:

I think you answered your own question right there.

 

Organic matter and rocks/fossils are two entirely different categories

[siteseer]

On 11/26/2020 at 6:00 PM, Phevo said:

 

Organic matter and rocks/fossils are two entirely different categories

 

The problem is they are treated the same in Mexico.  It is my understanding that the government does not allow modern sand dollars to leave the country either.  It doesn't matter whether you can make an argument for keeping anything.  You'll be lucky if they just take the specimens and decide to let you go.

 

 

[siteseer]

On 11/26/2020 at 7:40 AM, Cenade said:

Hi everyone,

 

I am a double national from Mexico/Canada, and I travel occasionally between both countries. In my time here in Canada I have started a small fossil collection- three sliced ammonites, three cheap trilobites, a Crinoid plate, a 3.5 inch Megalodon tooth, a piece of ammolite and another gemstone. All of these are relatively small in the 1-3 inch range, with the exception of one of the sliced ammonites being 5 inches.

 

I do not have a trip to Mexico planned solidly but I am considering going back eventually once COVID starts slowing down, and I will bring my fossil collection with me. I know and have read that I will likely have no trouble getting them into the plane in Canada as carry-on luggage save for a few inquisitive questions from airport security, but my big concern is once I arrive at Mexico. Customs in Mexico City can check your baggage on arrival before you exit the airport terminal. A few years ago on a return trip to there, I had brought a small dead branch that was curiously shaped like a hand, a customs officer picked it from my carry-on luggage and promptly destroyed it and put it in a trash bin.

 

I have tried searching on the web for whether or not it is legal to bring fossils to Mexico, but the information is either inexistent, vague, or conflicting. I have read that it is illegal to bring them OUT, as all Mexican fossils are considered cultural heritage and thus cannot be removed from the country, but bringing them IN is my concern- would they get seized by customs, or even destroyed by a careless customs official who thinks these million-year-old dead animals or the soil they are found in are bad? Any help or knowledge on this subject would be appreciated.

A thread here I previously found:

 

 

 

I wouldn't take my fossil collection out of the country unless I was moving there for the rest of my life.  On your way back out of Mexico how are you going to prove that none of your fossils are from Mexico?  You'll be dealing with a customs agent who won't recognize that your crinoid is from another country.  Megalodon teeth are well-known in Mexico.  You might be allowed to keep your sliced ammonites but you might not.  I would bet that at best everything else will be seized.  I wouldn't bring any of that there unless you you're willing to gamble with your freedom.

 

 

 

 

[aplomado]

On 11/26/2020 at 8:00 PM, Phevo said:

 

Organic matter and rocks/fossils are two entirely different categories

 

Did the customs official act like he cared about Cenade's property?  That was what I was trying to get across.

[Pemphix]

You may need to ask a lawyer which is knowledgable about the topic and/or the consulat. This forum is not able and not allowed to answer juristical questions...

 

[Phevo]

1 hour ago, aplomado said:

 

Did the customs official act like he cared about Cenade's property?  That was what I was trying to get across.

 

My point was that organic matter is destroyed on arrival in many, many countries to keep potential contaminants out, which would explain why they did not care about a branch (organic matter), the same thing would have happened arriving to Canada, certain items arriving to the states, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, some countries in europe etc. 

 

Bringing a rock that does not contain organic matter and thus does not pose a threat is a different case

 

@Cenade Tiene que mirrar el paje official de Mexico para la importacion de fossiles (creo que son conciderado artefactos alla, pero no soy seguro)

[FossilDAWG]

Aside from the issue of organic matter and (entirely reasonable) regulations to prevent importation of disease organisms, you should also consider that some countries consider fossils to be "antiquities" in the same legal category as archeological artifacts.  Such "antiquities" are legally considered to be part of the national heritage, and exporting them without a permit (which may be very difficult or impossible to obtain) is a serious criminal offense.  We can talk all day about how it is silly to confuse an Elrathia kingi (the most commonly sold trilobite) with the Elgin Marbles, but that is besides the point; the law is the law and customs officials are paid to enforce the law, not to decide what parts are sensible and what parts are silly.  Mexico may well be one of those countries.  I agree with siteseer's advice: take your collection with you if you plan to move permanently to Mexico.  If you plan to return to Canada it might be best to make an arrangement to leave them with someone so you can get them back on your return.

 

Don

[Scylla]

I think Don is correct. But just for fun maybe you can make the meg tooth into a belt buckle and the ammonite slices into earrings. That will glide right through customs.

[Mark Kmiecik]

You can ship them to yourself and list them as "decorative objects" on the customs form.