Destination North and South America

Caribbean
Tortoiseshell, turtle oil, shells, corals (particularly black coral jewelry) and sharks' teeth are all widely available, as well as reptile leather products and bird feathers.

United States
Unscrupulous traders may try to illegally sell tourists products made from protected species, such as black bear, eagle feathers or puma skins.

Latin America
The souvenirs offered in South America are too numerous to list, especially in or near the Amazon Basin, where products made from skins, furs and feathers abound. Also watch out for the super soft and illegal fur of the endangered vicuña in Andean countries.

Some of the items most commonly seized by customs from tourists returning from this continent are: the skins of tegu lizards (Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay); anaconda (rainbow boa constrictor) - either live or made into handbags, wallets, shoes or belts (Argentina, Colombia, Surinam); similar items made from caimans (Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela); Queen conch shells (Colombia); green turtle products - for example jewelry and combs (Brazil, Uruguay); parrot feathers - permits are needed to export even ONE parrot feather (Peru, Paraguay); handbags made from peccary skins (Peru); live iguanas (Surinam) and red-kneed tarantulas - sold either live for the pet trade or dead and framed (Mexico).