Banned in California: This Season's Snakeskin
By MONICA CORCORAN
Published: March 19, 2000
IN New York, animal rights campaigners are protesting the use of leather and skins as inhumane. In Beverly Hills, shopping rights militants are outraged for a different reason: they can't find a pair of those sexy python pumps anywhere.
Neither Gucci, Barneys nor Chanel stock the popular snakeskin in their Los Angeles stores. In California, the sale of python skin or parts has been outlawed since 1970, around the same time the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 was being discussed and formulated. Importing or shipping the species or products made from it into the state for commercial purposes is illegal. Violators face a maximum fine of $5,000 or a six-month stay at a county jail.
How to overcome such obstacles to achieving the reptile look has become the talk of the West Coast's fashion elite. One wardrobe stylist orders from Gucci in Hawaii, which will mail it to 90210 and neighboring ZIP codes. Other shoppers fly to Las Vegas. It's legal to bring your own python across state lines, as long as you don't plan to sell it.
''You can carry or wear your python shoes into California,'' said Jack Edwards, assistant chief of patrol at the Department of Fish and Game in Sacramento. ''But you can't bring in a purse made of mountain lion,'' he added. ''That's illegal.'' (That animal has a special protective status.)
Some stores appear to be unaware of these statutes. At the Beverly Hills Fendi -- the designer of the coveted python baguette -- a member of the sales staff directed this reporter to the store's Bal Harbor, Fla., boutique, which she said would mail the $1,695 purse to the customer's private Los Angeles address. When told that shipping snakeskin into California is illegal, a Fendi saleswoman in Bal Harbor said with a lilting Italian accent: ''No? Maybe I have heard something about this? Really? I should check on that.''
California is the only state with a ban on all types of python, though only Indian python is now on the endangered species list. Mr. Edwards seemed unaware of the current fashion crisis the state's regulations had caused.
''I haven't heard anything about python being popular,'' he said. ''Right now, we're seeing a lot of illegal activities with abalone and bear parts.''
Abalone is a snail-like delicacy that fetches $100 per pound on the black market. Bear gall bladders are believed to have the same effect as Viagra and sell for $2,000 to $4,000. Gucci's hip-hugging python pants could have a similar effect for only $3,650.
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