Bearskin

[arctic hobo]

I was just discussing next year's expedition with a friend when my bearskin came up. He said he was sure that bearskin products were illegal throughout the world if not the UK and that I could be done for owning one. I was extremely dubious (I've seen many Russians wearing them), but after a quick google I could not find a single retailer for bearskin products. But then again, isn't the Guards' hat made of real bearskin? :?:
And also, I know it isn't legal to hunt with arrows in the UK, but does anyone know whether this applies to other countries? France, Norway, Sweden, USA?
Thanks in advance for help

 

[TheViking]

It's illegal to hunt with arrows over here, unless you have a special permission and follow certain rules.

I don't think bearskin is illegal. Why should it be that? :roll:

 

[Squidders]

Maybe i'm getting it wrong (wouldn't be the first time) but bow hunting in the UK is illegal... I seem to remember hearing it in the first episode of the last RM series on the telly where he made the arrows.

Anyone else remember this or was I really drunk? :?:

 

[Abbe Osram]

I was just discussing next year's expedition with a friend when my bearskin came up. He said he was sure that bearskin products were illegal throughout the world if not the UK and that I could be done for owning one. I was extremely dubious (I've seen many Russians wearing them), but after a quick google I could not find a single retailer for bearskin products. But then again, isn't the Guards' hat made of real bearskin? :?:
And also, I know it isn't legal to hunt with arrows in the UK, but does anyone know whether this applies to other countries? France, Norway, Sweden, USA?
Thanks in advance for help

Hunting with a bow is not legal in sweden! Why should bearskin been illegal?
What kind of product you are talking about?

cheers
Abbe
:chill:

 

[Wayne]

Bow hunting is definately illegal in the England and Wales not sure about Scotland.

 

[arctic hobo]

Hunting with a bow is not legal in sweden! Why should bearskin been illegal?
What kind of product you are talking about?

cheers
Abbe
:chill:

Any kind of bearskin product :?: There seem to be absolutely no retailers for fur coats at all!

 

[Nightfall]

You can bowhunt in the USA.I grew up in Iowa and we had a bow season for deer. I have also seen points that could be used on rabbits and birds.

 

[tomtom]

considering everyone in this pic has one..

i dont think it is illegal.. while is probably illegal to kill for the fur.. i dont think it is an offence to own it!

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

i'm in danger of being P.C. but didn't they change to synthetic "bearskins"?

as for buying "bearskins" i would imagine that there is some sort of government policy on it, nowerdays i think we can safely assume that because of conservation laws etc etc, and our government wanting to look whiter than white that selling and buying of "bearskin" or any other "wild" or "endangered" animal would be dificult if not illigal!

an easier road to try might be "deer skin, cow skin, rabbit skin, even highland cattle etc. might have the disired effect.
the other option is to buy an old genuine fur coat, and use that. :?:

i would have a look at the way the law stands on handling "bear skins" before trying to get one.

 

[tomtom]

i'm in danger of being P.C. but didn't they change to synthetic "bearskins"?

yeh they have now.. but thats because of a shortage of bear.. and it isn't PC to be killing them.. the bear ones are still in use.. but your right they aren't making any more!

i think you would be hard pushed to by the stuff but i dent think you will get in trouble for just owning it!

 

[RovingArcher]

Much of the reason that bear products are closely monitored here in America is the bounties that Oriental business people put on the gall bladder (up to 10,000.00) of the black bear and other bear products that they use medicinally. This causes poachers to kill several bears and let them rot, except for those parts that are being paid for.

We aren't allowed to import bear products into California, but can obtain skins through legal hunting and make products from them.

Can bear products be imported into the UK? I have something small that I'd like to send that way and would hate to see it lost to customs.

 

[bambodoggy]

Bow hunting is illegal all over the UK but is fine in France and fine in the US (both subject to licences etc), I started a tread a while back about bow fishing in the Fair Game forum and there's loads of info about bow hunting (mainly from Moonraker...thanks again) and a few others.

I've been looking into Bears for a while now. It varies country to country....in the US you can hunt Black Bear with no problem....but shoot a Grizzly in anything other than provable self defence and you're in big trouble!
If you have a look at some of the US forestry Service website it tells you what you can hunt where and when in each of their forests.

http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/map/state_list.shtml#Idaho

As well as having to ave a hunting permit etc, in Montana you have to take a test on identifying black bears as opposed to Grizzlys and you can't hunt until you pass the test. You can do the test online, which of course I did, and I passed first time without doing the tutorial....and who said the Discovery channel was a waist of time!!! ):

It's not at all illegal to own or sell bear skins here in the UK as far as I know, a mate of my father runs a hunting company up in Scotland and regularly runs trips to Siberia to hunt them and they always bring back the skins with no problems. I think the reason you can't find a stockist over here is a supply and demand one...can't be that many people looking to buy bear skins over here!!!

Hope that's of some interest to ya....

Phil.

 

[bambodoggy]

Cool...found the link to the Bear ID test....give it a go online if you like...you get a nice certificate to print off too!

Enjoy....

http://fwp.state.mt.us/bearid/default.htm

 

[Tvividr]

I was just discussing next year's expedition with a friend when my bearskin came up. He said he was sure that bearskin products were illegal throughout the world if not the UK and that I could be done for owning one. I was extremely dubious (I've seen many Russians wearing them), but after a quick google I could not find a single retailer for bearskin products. But then again, isn't the Guards' hat made of real bearskin? :?:
And also, I know it isn't legal to hunt with arrows in the UK, but does anyone know whether this applies to other countries? France, Norway, Sweden, USA?
Thanks in advance for help

No restrictions on owning a bear skin in Norway (unless it's an icebear or something on the CITES list, in which case you have to have a CITES certificate - if the skin is new etc). But there may be some restrictions on importing a bear skin (required CITES certificates etc).
Bowhunting is not legal in Norway and Sweden (Sweden has recently finished a test project with special selected bowhunters, but possible legalisation is not in the very near future). In Denmark you will be allowed to bowhunt after having passed the Danish bowhunting examination - requirements are that you first have to pass the ordinary hunting examination before you can participate on the compulsary bowhunting course and do the bowhunting examination. In Finland you can bowhunt, and I far as I know you do not need anything else than the standard finnish hunting papers (they have been working on a cumpulsary course and test / examination, but I am not sure if it will be required at the moment. If you really want to know, I can get you in touch with the chairman of the Finnish Bowhunting Association. In that case send me a PM).
Bowhunting is allowed in France, Italy etc, and obviously in the USA (and the whole American continent for that matter). If you want bowhunting info on specific countries, then I usually can get if for you pretty fast (send PM).

 

[Realgar]

Yes they switch to synthetic about 3 years ago - I remeber all the pompous nobodies huffing and puffing about how it was a disgrace and another example of how this country was declining. It was about the same time as the tourist information lot decided to ditch the bulldog as a logo ( cue huffing and puffing again )
this should give you some idea of the situation:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3553324.stm

 

[Abbe Osram]

Hi Guys,
we have more and more bears here in sweden, we had a couple of incidents too last season. Couple of attacked people getting hurt and one dead. Every year the government gives a certain amount of bears free for hunting, I believe we had about 30 in our area which where free for hunting. Here is one news paper story about the incident:

Sweden: Hunter killed by bear
19/10/2004 14:27 - (SA)

Stockholm - A group of hunters accompanied by dogs and police were dispatched on Tuesday to Nausta, northern Sweden to trace and kill a bear that killed a moose hunter over the weekend.

It was reportedly the first fatal bear attack in 102 years in Sweden, experts said.

Fellow hunters reported that the 40-year-old hunter, who was familiar with the area, went missing on Saturday. A police helicopter spotted the hunter's body on Monday. The crew landed nearby and established that the hunter had been mauled by a bear. However, police were forced to retreat without retrieving the body when the aggressive bear appeared again.

The bear appeared to be wounded, and the hunters were under instructions to proceed with great caution, police spokesperson said.

The attack occurred in a marshy, forested area about 1 100km north of Stockholm.

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Sweden has between 1 600 and 2 800 bears. - dpa

 

[arctic hobo]

Thanks very much everybody! :biggthump
Having looked further I haven't found it to be illegal except for protected bears - but still I cannot find any fur retailers. Odd. :?:
As for the bowhunting - thanks also for the info, I now know all I wanted thanks Gerd and others. :You_Rock_

 

[Abbe Osram]

Thanks very much everybody! :biggthump
Having looked further I haven't found it to be illegal except for protected bears - but still I cannot find any fur retailers. Odd. :?:
As for the bowhunting - thanks also for the info, I now know all I wanted thanks Gerd and others. :You_Rock_

its possible that the retailers don't want much public, the animal romantics are quite aggressive. Here in Sweden it has started that the animal rights people threaten to kill retailers or their children if they continue selling fur. They even went in Uppsala freely into the shops and wanted to force retailers to sign a contract for protection only that they sign a paper not to sell fur anymore. If they don't sign the animal rights people said that they could not guarantee what is going to happen.
But the police is not doing anything. So I am pretty sure a lot of them don't want that hassle anymore.

cheers
Abbe

 

[bambodoggy]

Hey Hobo....I'm pretty sure you won't get a bear skin over here but why not find a US/Canadian/Scandanavian site and have it shipped over?

I'll have a shuffty round and see if I can find any sites mate....

 

[bambodoggy]

Right...found a couple...although to be fair they are mainly rugs but you can still use them for the skin... they seem a little pricey too!!!!

http://www.sell.com/2QJJQ

http://www.viroent.mb.ca/special/ (need to scroll down a bit).

http://www.timberlinefurniture.com/blackbearrug.html

http://www.northcountrymarketing.com/bear-skin-rugs.htm (this site seems very good...they do nice birch bark canoes too)

http://www.taxidermy.net/forums/ForSaleArticles/04/l/047E75F0E5.html (This is from a hunter who wants to sell what he's shot..much cheaper and they aren't already made into rugs...he only posted the sale yesterday so should still have them)

There, that's a few... hope that's of help to you Hobo

Cheers,
Bam