coral as a gift item

[Wendy Jo]

Tamara Greenleaf wrote:

> The question I have is,
> HOW can a consumer make sure a coral item in a gift shop is legal?

	Only an educated consumer will consult the shop owner and 
ask where they came from. And hope the owner will be truthful. The 
best way to educate the consumer is to push the peril of the reefs. 
Hey, the fur activists did it. Wearing fur became socially 
unacceptable. 

> Are there any circumstances in which a coral item being sold as a gift or
> souvenir is okay?

	Yes. If it's made of synthetic material.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wendy Jo Shemansky
Environmental News Director, Secretary
West Penn Scuba Divers
Environmental Science & Management Graduate Student
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh,PA
slkyshrk at sgi.net

**** Think globally, act locally!****