Richard Parker wrote:
> This sounds horrible. I once had the same problem, coming back to England
> with a collection of shells from the Philippines. Problem was, I also had
> a five-year old, very small end-of-joint roach amongst the detritus at the
> bottom of one of my camera bag pockets. The British customs searched my
> two bags, and me (in the most embarrassing manner) and found nothing more.
> The shell collection was in my main bag, so they took them out, unwrapped
> the tissue paper, and crushed each one, by hand, in front of my eyes. I
> was let go after agreeing to give a $100 (Pounds50) 'contribution' to the
> Police charity.
> Please don't hold out any hopes for restitution. These thugs are employed
> by your state (as mine) to make sure you know your place.

* have these destroyed shells been clearly labelled (as we were taught
any shipment should be, even domestically):

"SCIENTIFIC SPECIMENS, DEAD SHELLS, NO COMMERCIAL VALUE"?

In dealing with customs, it's important never to give them the
opportunity to misunderstand, and to always use the scientific names of
the organisms concerned.

fred.
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             Bishops Mills Natural History Centre
           Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
        RR#2 Bishops Mills, Ontario, Canada K0G 1T0
     on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W
       (613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca
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