Chita customs officers at the Zabaikalsk checkpoint found 16 bear claws in the baggage of a foreign tourist travelling to China. Source: FCS Russia.
During inspection, officers noticed items resembling parts of a wild animal — dried claws with soft tissue remnants weighing nearly 300 g in total.
The man said a friend in Russia had given him the claws as a gift and that he did not know derivatives must be declared.
The claws were seized for species identification. Chita customs is conducting a review. Bears and their derivatives fall under CITES; export requires permits from Rosprirodnadzor and Rosselkhoznadzor in addition to a passenger declaration.
