Plans to stop 'rat bags' selling stolen moa bones online

Thursday, 2 July 2020

A new proposed law change will make it illegale to sell moa bones, but necessary sales for scientific purposes will still be allowed. These two moa skeletons are on display at Te Papa.

A collection of moa bones on Trade Mesold for $3510 at the end of May. But a proposed law change would make such transactions illegal.

“We have lost too many of our native species,” said Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage.

Most of the moa fossils- an extinct species- in New Zealand are located in public areas, mostly caves, making them easily accessible for opportunistic people who appear to prioritise personal profit over protecting the country’s history.

“It’s easy to do, it’s cheap money and they don’t give a rats a..,” said Dr Colin Miskelly, Te Papa’s vertebrates curator.

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Dr Colin Miskelly, an ornithologist and Te Papa’s vertebrates curator thought new law changes would deter people from stealing moa bones and fossils.

“People don’t do this because they [have] principles … they’re doing it because they can make money.

“[We’re a] collective community of 5 million but there’s some real ratbags still.”

Removing such items is already illegal and carries a penalty of five years imprisonment or a $300,000 fine for commercial gain offences.

But that doesn't appear to deter offenders. Miskelly, an ornithologist, hoped removing the potential for financial gain would make a difference.

”Make it illegal to sell these things, then people won’t have an incentive to go and steal these things.

”They cannot sell it to anyone, they cannot barter with it.

Since 2010, there have been more than 350 listings for moa bones and eggshells online, many of which were identified as being removed from protected sites. In the last six months, Trade Me recorded seven of these listings.

South Canterbury Museum staff at Ravensdown's Kakahu limestone quarry near Geraldine examine a site where moa bone fragments were discovered.

One listing in 2015 – leg and toe bones – went on sale with a starting price of $1000. They were said to have been dug out from a peat bog in Southland.

The seller refused to divulge specifics on where they were found, but said they were located on private property. The money was said to help a struggling student.

At present, it’s not illegal to sell the artefacts online, unless they are taken from Department of Conservation land. However, they cannot be sold overseas.

Trade Me’s head of trust and safety, George Hiotakis, said the company’s starting point is that “if an item is legal to sell in New Zealand then it can be listed on Trade Me”. However, he noted they didn’t see a lot of moa bones sold on the website.

There are no restrictions on bones found on private land, but Miskelly was sceptical of the volume of bones for sale under that guise.

“There seems to be so much material [that] turns up that it’s completely improbable it’s coming from private land.”

Hiotakis said the trust and safety team monitors the site for “misleading or illegitimate listings”, and a Community Watch button at the bottom of the listing allows members to alert the team to any concerning products for sale.

”If we have concerns about a moa bone listing we will get in touch with the experts at the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, and Heritage New Zealand. Likewise if they raise any concerns with us, we would help them in any way we can.”

If a member is found to be selling illegitimate moa bones, the listing will be immediately pulled and the user banned from the site, Hiotakis said.

The plan, announced by Sage on Thursday and drafted by the Department of Conservation alongside museum scientists, aims to stop remains being removed from protected sites and sold.

“This plan closes the gap in regulations to protect them,” Sage explained.

If the amendment is made, Miskelly thought a clear message would be sent from the people of New Zealand to those trying to profit off the land.

If offenders continue to steal and sell the bones they will be “pissing off New Zealanders collectively” as well as breaking the law, he said.

Hiotakis explained that if it became illegal to sell moa bones, the company would abide by the law.

A moa skeleton with marks left by a giant Haast eagle.

Miskelly clarified that the proposed law change wouldn’t affect anyone who already had a moa bone in their possession.

“If they want to keep it and love it … they can still do that, but they can’t exchange it for money.”

Over the years, bone fragments have regularly been located within limestone quarries and ancient swampland.

Miskelly said caves, most of which are located within public reserves, are common places for fossils to be discovered as they can be found lying on surfaces.

Other sites, like swamp deposits, usually require excavation to find them.

He said most people won’t just stumble upon bones and fossils, rather, they know where to find them.

“If you know what you’re looking for and where to go, they can be readily found.”

There are exemptions under the proposed plan, such as the authorisation of necessary sales for scientific purposes or to protect Māori cultural practices or values. Cultural exchanges of extinct species, including moa, wouldn’t be prohibited or require authorisation.

It wouldn’t just protect moa bones and fossils either. Selling remains of other extinct species, like the New Zealand goose, would also be prohibited.

“Aotearoa New Zealand’s extinct species are part of our past,” Sage said.

“They speak to who we are and there is much we can learn from them.

“Banning the sale of their remains will help protect this precious part of our heritage.”

Public submissions on the plan are open and being accepted until September 28.