Hedonist
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Sorry guys, I just find this so ludicrous.. I have to share it....
Agents seize walrus skull, tusk
Reader Comments (below)
By KEVIN WACK, Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
The gull under glass, it turns out, was only the beginning. Now there's also the case of the whisked-away walrus.
On the same day that a pair of federal fish-and-wildlife agents demanded a 150-year-old stuffed gull that hangs from the wall of a Camden restaurant, they also stopped at a Boothbay Harbor clothing store to confiscate the proudly displayed remains of a Pacific walrus.
"I was taken aback," said Sewall Maddocks, who owns Paine's Clothing Store in Boothbay Harbor. "We're fighting wars, there's starving people in the world, and we're spending money at the federal level to do this."
Maddocks explained that he found the skull and tusk of a walrus in the late 1980s or early 1990s when he was fishing commercially off the coast of Alaska. The remains, which weigh 20 to 30 pounds, got caught in a fishing net.
Maddocks brought the oddity back to Maine, and his children have lugged it to school when their classes had show-and-tell.
Maddocks stored the walrus parts at his house until last year, when he purchased the clothing store and put them on display there. Then last Thursday, two special agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service arrived and confiscated the remains.
Rob Rothe, one of the two Orland-based agents, said Monday that walruses are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The law makes exceptions for animals possessed by native Alaskans and for animals acquired before 1972, but neither of those conditions applied in this case.
"Generally, if a violation occurs, the item then has to be seized," Rothe said.
Eric Holmes, lead agent in the Boothbay Harbor case, was out of the office Monday and unavailable for comment.
In the case involving Cappy's Chowder House in Camden, the stuffed bird has not been confiscated. Owner Johanna Tutone said Monday that she's been given another week to try to reach an agreement on where the gull should go.
One possible destination is the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport. But after the office of Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe became involved in the case, Tutone was more optimistic that she might be allowed to keep the mounted bird.
"We're looking for a remedy that would allow her to maintain possession," said Snowe spokesman Jake Ward.
Tutone, who bought the mounted bird more than two decades ago at the auction of a sea captain's estate, said she's gotten many supportive phone calls since her story hit the news last week.
"We're thrilled that people find this as ridiculous as we do," she said. "There's so much going on in the world. We're using two special agents to collect a stuffed bird. It's sort of silly."
Rothe, the fish-and-wildlife agent, said confiscations of stuffed birds and walrus skulls are uncommon in Maine. But he said his office does get a lot of complaints about wildlife being held illegally.
He said the walrus remains are being held in evidence storage. In many cases, items seized by agents are sent to a warehouse in Colorado and then distributed to approved institutions, such as museums.
Maddocks said he was informed that someone complained about the walrus parts about three weeks ago. He, too, has contacted Snowe's office and asked for help in securing their return.
Staff Writer Kevin Wack can be contacted at 282-8226 or at:
Agents seize walrus skull, tusk
Reader Comments (below)
By KEVIN WACK, Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
The gull under glass, it turns out, was only the beginning. Now there's also the case of the whisked-away walrus.
On the same day that a pair of federal fish-and-wildlife agents demanded a 150-year-old stuffed gull that hangs from the wall of a Camden restaurant, they also stopped at a Boothbay Harbor clothing store to confiscate the proudly displayed remains of a Pacific walrus.
"I was taken aback," said Sewall Maddocks, who owns Paine's Clothing Store in Boothbay Harbor. "We're fighting wars, there's starving people in the world, and we're spending money at the federal level to do this."
Maddocks explained that he found the skull and tusk of a walrus in the late 1980s or early 1990s when he was fishing commercially off the coast of Alaska. The remains, which weigh 20 to 30 pounds, got caught in a fishing net.
Maddocks brought the oddity back to Maine, and his children have lugged it to school when their classes had show-and-tell.
Maddocks stored the walrus parts at his house until last year, when he purchased the clothing store and put them on display there. Then last Thursday, two special agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service arrived and confiscated the remains.
Rob Rothe, one of the two Orland-based agents, said Monday that walruses are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The law makes exceptions for animals possessed by native Alaskans and for animals acquired before 1972, but neither of those conditions applied in this case.
"Generally, if a violation occurs, the item then has to be seized," Rothe said.
Eric Holmes, lead agent in the Boothbay Harbor case, was out of the office Monday and unavailable for comment.
In the case involving Cappy's Chowder House in Camden, the stuffed bird has not been confiscated. Owner Johanna Tutone said Monday that she's been given another week to try to reach an agreement on where the gull should go.
One possible destination is the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport. But after the office of Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe became involved in the case, Tutone was more optimistic that she might be allowed to keep the mounted bird.
"We're looking for a remedy that would allow her to maintain possession," said Snowe spokesman Jake Ward.
Tutone, who bought the mounted bird more than two decades ago at the auction of a sea captain's estate, said she's gotten many supportive phone calls since her story hit the news last week.
"We're thrilled that people find this as ridiculous as we do," she said. "There's so much going on in the world. We're using two special agents to collect a stuffed bird. It's sort of silly."
Rothe, the fish-and-wildlife agent, said confiscations of stuffed birds and walrus skulls are uncommon in Maine. But he said his office does get a lot of complaints about wildlife being held illegally.
He said the walrus remains are being held in evidence storage. In many cases, items seized by agents are sent to a warehouse in Colorado and then distributed to approved institutions, such as museums.
Maddocks said he was informed that someone complained about the walrus parts about three weeks ago. He, too, has contacted Snowe's office and asked for help in securing their return.
Staff Writer Kevin Wack can be contacted at 282-8226 or at:
