Emilio and all,

If I understand the original question correctly, it asks whether receiving
Polymita through the mail directly from Cuba is problematic.  There is a
Cuban company who is proffering commercial quality Polymita to collectors
and dealers around the world. I have recently received one of these
messages and made my own inquiries  (they have sent me pictures to look
over).

My own past experience with parcels from Cuba is that without some kind of
customs documentation, a box from the land down-under (the U.S.) is a
potential red flag for customs and then Fish & Wildlife here in the U.S. --
even with full documentation it is reasonable to think that it will be
segregated for inspection.

Likewise, if sending out land shells from Cuba is potentially a red flag
for Cuban officials (depending on what day and how much/little payola is
offered) and this company uses a customs form and honestly states the
contents, then they may not get their shells out either.  Word of mouth
indicates that the boxes "are" sent out with minimal documentation.

So like Emilio says, "...do things at your own calculated risk."

Rich
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.worldwideconchology.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Original Message:
-----------------
From: Emilio [log in to unmask]
Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 12:43:15 -0500
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cuban land snail restrictions??


Hi to all,

Without the citing of names, there have been many collectors that
have visited the island in recent time. From the US and other countries.
I am a native of Cuba and I think I know how things work down there.
There are many restrictions [laws/rules] on anything you can imagine
including collecting of wildlife. However the population in general have
many other priorities to worry about, yes basic necessities. So you may
get away with certain rule breaking one day and get your butt in big trouble
on another day. The enforcement may be one thing one day/one enforcer
of the rules and be different another day/different enforcer of the rules.
You essentially do things based on the latest information on what can be
done or not. So the best advice is to do things at your own calculated risk.

CAUTION: DO NOT TAKE GPS EQUIPMENT WITH YOU!!!

I used to be in contact with Cuban biologists, on the island, lost touch,
but they did have bans on collecting land/tree snails and they had recent
laws of sorts protecting them.

Emilio Jorge Power

bivalve wrote:

>Emilio notes on his site at
>http://www.geocities.com/Eureka/Gold/9440/polymita/polylit.html
>that export of Polymita for non-scientific reasons was forbidden in the
1940's, although laws have changed a lot in Cuba since then.
>
>    Dr. David Campbell
>    Old Seashells
>    University of Alabama
>    Biodiversity & Systematics
>    Dept. Biological Sciences
>    Box 870345
>    Tuscaloosa, AL  35487-0345 USA
>    [log in to unmask]
>
>That is Uncle Joe, taken in the masonic regalia of a Grand Exalted
Periwinkle of the Mystic Order of Whelks-P.G. Wodehouse, Romance at
Droitgate Spa
>
>
>

--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web.com/ .