Illegal animal Imports

July 27, 2017

Question: A while back I saw the reply in your column regarding the legality of buying/selling python snake skin. I see kangaroo on the prohibited list. Does this include all species? As I understand it, the Australian government allows the cull of Marcropus giganteus due to gross overpopulation. (Steve B.)

Answer: Yes. California Penal Code section 653o includes all species of kangaroo and provides that it “is unlawful to import into this state for commercial purposes, to possess with intent to sell, or to sell within the state, the dead body, or any part or product thereof, of a polar bear, leopard, ocelot, tiger, cheetah, jaguar, sable antelope, wolf (Canis lupus), zebra, whale, cobra, python, sea turtle, colobus monkey, kangaroo, vicuna, sea otter, free-roaming feral horse, dolphin or porpoise (Delphinidae), Spanish lynx, or elephant.”