If you’re lucky enough to catch a falling star, best keep it close—but don’t try bringing it across a border into Canada. There’s a little-known law that makes that tricky business.
That’s the challenge facing the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum, which has offered a US$25,000 reward for the first kilo of a meteorite believed to have landed in New Brunswick on April 8. A fireball streaked across the sky that night before breaking up somewhere in the province.
Hina Alam –
The Canadian Press –
May 21,2023
But getting any recovered pieces into the United States won’t be as simple as buying them. According to Chris Herd, professor at the University of Alberta and curator of its meteorite collection, Canadian rules make sure it’s more complicated than just “finders, keepers.”
As noted in the Canadian Press, “In Canada, all meteorites are considered Canadian cultural property automatically through the Cultural Property Export and Import Act,” he said in an interview. “… “If it’s public property, say an American comes in and finds (the meteorite,) they have to apply to export it from Canada. They may not actually take it out of Canada unless they have an approved export permit.”
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