Selling Bottle Openers Made From Antlers

April 12, 2012

Question: I have a very small hobby/business of making (and at some point hopefully selling) bottle openers. I currently make them out of wood but I would like to make some of them out of deer or elk antlers or bone. There are companies on the Internet who sell antlers, but they say they cannot ship to California. What are the regulations concerning using antlers for hobby items such as this? What antlers are permissible for importing for use in a hobby/business of making bottle openers? Why are elk antlers not allowed to be imported into California? Can elk antlers be legally gathered or purchased from within California? (Jeff M., South Lake Tahoe)

Answer:  In general, it is not legal to buy or sell the parts of any game bird or mammal found in the wild in the state of California (Fish and Game Code, section 3039(a)). However, FGC section 3039(c) allows the purchase and sale of shed antlers or antlers taken from domestically reared animals that have been manufactured into products as long as the antlers are not complete, attached to a head, mounted for display, or in velvet. As far as your question, if the antlers are from sheds and are made into bottle openers, they would be allowed to be sold in California. Another option would be to purchase antlers from animals such as caribou or moose, since they are not found in the wild in California.