Cape Town South Africa Fossil Collecting

[cowsharks]

A good friend of mine is working in an area real close to Cape Town, South Africa.  He's an avid fossil collector and wants to know if it's legal to collect fossils off any of the beaches there.  I did some research and it appears that South Africa has some pretty strict laws/rules that prohibit the collecting of any fossils, removing them, exporting them, etc. without a permit from South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) .  Permits seem to be issued only when specimens go to a museum or university for study, etc.  Just curious to know if this is still the current law/situation so my friend knows what he can or can't do/collect etc.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Not sure about the current laws but :

 

Doesn't seem very hopeful, i'm afraid.

[Fruitbat]

South Africa has VERY restrictive laws regarding its paleontological resources.

 

Quote

"The legislation protecting fossils is embodied in the National Heritage Resources Act (Act No.25 of 1999) which came into effect on 1 April 2000. The Act states that no person may destroy, damage, alter, deface, disturb, excavate, remove from its original position, collect or own, trade in or sell, export or attempt to export from South Africa, any fossil without a permit from the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA). A person found guilty of breaking the law is liable for a fine and several years imprisonment, or both. Customs officials are aware of the law and have confiscated fossils when attempts have been made to export them without permission in the past." 1

 The actual National Heritage Resources Act is available at: LINK

 

This Act applies to all fossils that are EXPORTED from South Africa too!  In their synopsis of the Act, the AAPS makes the following recommendation:

 

Quote

Any South African fossil material available for sale on eBay or other internet sites, or offered for sale to dealers and collectors should be questioned and avoided.

 

-Joe

[cowsharks]

Wow.  Thanks folks.  That info is similar to what I found as well. 

 

THanks for your input.

[caldigger]

Maybe if he "happens" upon something fossil related he may take some photos of it for us to enjoy. I would presume photo taking isn't restricted.

[Tidgy's Dad]

19 minutes ago, caldigger said:

Maybe if he "happens" upon something fossil related he may take some photos of it for us to enjoy. I would presume photo taking isn't restricted.

Only if you're using a camera of historical importance. 

[MeargleSchmeargl]

On 2/5/2018 at 7:08 PM, Fruitbat said:

South Africa has VERY restrictive laws regarding its paleontological resources.

 

 The actual National Heritage Resources Act is available at: LINK

 

This Act applies to all fossils that are EXPORTED from South Africa too!  In their synopsis of the Act, the AAPS makes the following recommendation:

 

 

-Joe

It's a darned shame when we have to let fossils weather away in the name of overly-restrictive laws. The least they could do is limit these protections to scientifically important specimens, as opposed to a good-looking common specimen. 

[Max-fossils]

@cowsharks Indeed, the laws of South Africa are incredibly strict when it comes to fossiling. In fact, like many other countries, they consider fossils to be "country heritage" or "state property". So extracting fossils from the ground is strictly forbidden. 

 

BUT! You clearly say:

On 2/6/2018 at 12:07 AM, cowsharks said:

if it's legal to collect fossils off any of the beaches there.

And I can assure you, collecting on the beaches IS allowed!

 

I didn't fully understand why that was, but apparently fossils found in loose sediment are allowed to be collected. It's really the digging and the extracting that is not allowed. But if all you're doing is beachcombing and picking up the fossils you find washing ashore, you are in no way infringing the law. 

 

I'm saying this from personal experience. I went to South Africa myself a bit less than a year ago, and obviously was very eager to go fossil hunting at the Cape Town beaches (which are known for their shark teeth and whale fossils). And I managed to do so, and even met quite a few local hunters (and people selling their finds of the day too), so it is pretty obvious that collecting on the beach is allowed. 

You can read about my trip here:

 

 

Well, what can I say apart from: Happy Hunting!!!

Hopefully, you (or your friend) will find some cool stuff 

 

Best regards,

 

Max

[Fossildude19]

On 2/8/2018 at 3:51 PM, Max-fossils said:

@cowsharks Indeed, the laws of South Africa are incredibly strict when it comes to fossiling. In fact, like many other countries, they consider fossils to be "country heritage" or "state property". So extracting fossils from the ground is strictly forbidden. 

 

BUT! You clearly say:

And I can assure you, collecting on the beaches IS allowed!

 

I didn't fully understand why that was, but apparently fossils found in loose sediment are allowed to be collected. It's really the digging and the extracting that is not allowed. But if all you're doing is beachcombing and picking up the fossils you find washing ashore, you are in no way infringing the law. 

 

I'm saying this from personal experience. I went to South Africa myself a bit less than a year ago, and obviously was very eager to go fossil hunting at the Cape Town beaches (which are known for their shark teeth and whale fossils). And I managed to do so, and even met quite a few local hunters (and people selling their finds of the day too), so it is pretty obvious that collecting on the beach is allowed. 

 

What I am not seeing though,  is any law that specifically exempts beach fossils. 

 

za_natheritagresources1999_engorof (1).pdf

 

This seems pretty clear to me as stated here: 

 

"Synopsis; South Africa has one of the most restrictive and well defined fossil laws of any country. All fossils including and not limited to; micro fossils, plants, invertebrates and vertebrates must be collected under an approved permit and become property of the state. Application for export must be made through the SAHRA and customs, and only fossils exported for study or display in a museum or university will be granted export forms. Any South African fossil material available for sale on eBay or other internet sites, or offered for sale to dealers and collectors should be questioned and avoided.

 

The legislation protecting fossils is embodied in the National Heritage Resources Act (Act No.25 of 1999) which came into effect on 1 April 2000. The Act states that no person may destroy, damage, alter, deface, disturb, excavate, remove from its original position, collect or own, trade in or sell, export or attempt to export from South Africa, any fossil without a permit from the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA). A person found guilty of breaking the law is liable for a fine and several years imprisonment, or both. Customs officials are aware of the law and have confiscated fossils when attempts have been made to export them without permission in the past." 

 

 Because a law is not strictly enforced, that does not make breaking that law any less illegal.  

 

I found this post on a european fossil forum interesting.  Especially where he mentions:

" So Fossil Shark Teeth take a back seat but I try to put a Collection together despite the possibility that one Day they might come to take it away."

 

It would appear that many people there flaunt the laws. That doesn't make it any less illegal, or unethical. 

I personally wouldn't want to be in possession of such fossils, should the Government decide to crack down, and strengthen enforcement.   

 

[Auspex]

3 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

" So Fossil Shark Teeth take a back seat but I try to put a Collection together despite the possibility that one Day they might come to take it away."

My take on this is that SA retains ownership, and can take 'their' fossils back at any time. It may well be that casual surface collecting is indeed allowed, but all fossils are property of the State, and none may leave the country without a formal permit.

[Max-fossils]

@Fossildude19 that is worrying information for me 

Truth is, before going to SA I had messaged quite a handful of local fossil hunters. I had indeed seen the very strict regulations (and so I asked them how they were able to collect these teeth legally), but they had all told me something about "beach fossils/loose sediment/washed ashore, etc". Naturally I believed them, I had no reason not to believe them, as they probably knew the law of their country much better than me. Therefore I had just assumed I was all good doing fossil hunting on the beach. There were also a lot of other fossil hunters on the beach too, and everyone seemed open about their activity, so I naturally assumed I wasn't doing anything illegal. 

Turns out I may have been a little too quick to judge. 

 

I don't think there's much I can really do about it now though... 

 

Thanks for shedding some light on the truth Tim  

[Fossildude19]

Max, 

No slight was meant to you, at all. Water under the bridge. Your assumption was entirely reasonable.   

 

It appears that we are getting more members who are showing fossils from South Africa, and we do not endorse people taking fossils from that country. 

I would love for someone to show us some law that clearly states that beach finds are fine to take home/remove from the country. 

In lieu of that type of evidence, we must take the stance that ALL FOSSILS from South Africa are off limits, and should not be collected, or exported.   

We do not/can not condone illegal or unethical collecting practices. 

 

Keep in mind, the more exposure this issue gets, the more likely it is that South Africa will start cracking down on the practice.

Because they do not enforce the letter of the law currently, does not ensure that they won't or can't, sometime in the future.  

 

 

[Auspex]

There has been no ethical lapse in any of this that I can see. It's a matter of an obscure statute that is clouded by the fact that the locals don't follow it.
We look after each other here at TFF, and we do what we can to educate the public about all facets of fossil collecting.
We encourage anyone to speak up if they see anyone accidentally crosswise to the law; this is how we all learn.