M
MSD
Guest
I just checked on e-bay. Searching for items for sale under the word "stalactite" brings up 62 items. The vast majority of these are indeed actual (or part) stalactites. In some case the provenance is actually stated as being a particular cave.
What work is going on at the national/international level to control and restrict this kind of trade? What laws currently apply? If I nip down to OFD and pinch the columns, that would clearly be illegal (since OFD is protected by law). But if I chopped them up and sold them off in bits, would the people who (possibly unknowingly) bought them be commiting any kind of crime?
Should we be more worried about this kind of thing? How much damage to caves is actually caused by this kind of commercial exploitation (compared to the damage caused by cavers)?
What work is going on at the national/international level to control and restrict this kind of trade? What laws currently apply? If I nip down to OFD and pinch the columns, that would clearly be illegal (since OFD is protected by law). But if I chopped them up and sold them off in bits, would the people who (possibly unknowingly) bought them be commiting any kind of crime?
Should we be more worried about this kind of thing? How much damage to caves is actually caused by this kind of commercial exploitation (compared to the damage caused by cavers)?