strange blobs inside sporran

[OC Richard]

Never seen this before!

On the outside it looks like an ordinary sporran.

Inside, it looks like either the threaded posts were missing or they didn't have any of the proper tiny hex-nuts, so they just put blobs of glue or summat to hold the cantle on. Ex-hire perhaps?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Scottish-Ma...temCondition=4

[Father Bill]

Well yes, it does look like hot glue. Nothing I'll be buying, but it is a good price and possibly correctable. Mind you, that's taking a chance I don't need to take.

[Me cousin Jack]

Looks like the fur is slipping, in addition to the radical inguinal orchiectomy.

[1oldsarge]

The USA has a ban on the import of seal skin, which has been in force in the United States for more than 25 years, prohibited by the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act.

[tuathanach]

The USA has a ban on the import of seal skin, which has been in force in the United States for more than 25 years, prohibited by the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Not trying to hijack the thread, but I have heard this many times. Then I saw a used sealskin sporran for sale on eBay UK. I wrote to the seller and asked him if it was legal for me to import his sporran into the U.S. He said that he thought that a new sealskin sporran could not be imported into the U.S. but that he thought a used one could. But he said that if I had questions, to contact U.S. Customs.

In looking around on the network, it looked to me like it was actually the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that handles such things, so I called them on the phone to ask. I had three questions:

1. Is it legal for me to import a NEW sealskin sporran into the U.S.? (I am assuming that the answer is "no", but I wanted to get an authoritative answer.)

2. Is it legal for me to import a USED sealskin sporran into the U.S.?

3. Assuming that importing a NEW sealskin sporran into the U.S. is illegal, is the ban on the importation or on the possession of sealskin? (That is, if I found a used one that was already in the U.S., could I legally buy it?)

The folks that I talked to said that they could not answer the questions, and referred me to the "Division of Management Authority" of the FWS. OK. So I called the Division of Management Authority but missed their office hours, so I sent an email asking my questions. Over several days, I exchanged several emails with several folks in the Division of Management Authority.

The first thing that they all wanted to know was exactly which species of seal was involved, since apparently there are different protections on different species. I said that I didn't know and since the sporran was used, I thought it unlikely that the eBay seller knew either. I believe that Pagophilus groenlandicus would be a likely choice, but as far as I know, there is no way to verify that.

To my complete and utter amazement, I could never get a straight answer to ANY of my questions -- not even the first one!!! Unbelievable!! These are the folks tasked with enforcing these laws and they would not answer my questions!!!


(So in the end, I just gave up and bought a fox-fur dress sporran from the U.K. since (as far as I know) there is no controversy over fox fur. But I still would like a straight authoritative answer. I had no idea it would be so difficult to get a straight answer...)

[kingandrew]

I remember many years ago when I was not long out of college and trying to raise a son on entry-level wages, I made a math error on my taxes. Some time down the line, Uncle Sam sent me a notice that I owed the IRS money. A few communications back and forth enabled me to find the issue and see that it was indeed my mistake. So I tried to call them and find out how much I needed to pay to retire the debt. Amazingly, they could not give me a number--even though they were dunning me to pay. Apparently the cost was refigured no a "daily" basis. So I finally asked, "how much is it RIGHT NOW?" The flustered person on the line quoted a figure, I wrote a check for exactly that amount, and I mailed the check out that day. It was the last I ever heard of it.

I am afraid that sometimes the rules are so complex that no one is really sure, and given the repercussions of making a mistake, government workers are often as given to vagueness and deflecting as the politicians who employ them.

Andrew