Brief Summary:
Previously I shared the letter I sent to ThinkGeek about the recent addition of fossils to their merchandise. After one day I received a very cordial and thoughtful response from a ThinkGeek representative which I have copied below. Please note that the name and information which may identify this person have been removed out of courtesy for their privacy.
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Hi Lee.
I wanted to reach out to you to hank you for your incredibly
detailed and thought-provoking email to us regarding the sale of fossils.
When I studied Biology at [redacted] University, I had the privilege of
working as a tutor for Dr. [redacted]'s class. It was one of the most
amazing experiences of my life, and provided me with an intense love of
Paleontology. Plus, because of him I am T-Rex obsessed and successfully
passing on that love to my 3 little boys!
From what I know now, the company we get them from states
the Hadrosaurid bones have been verified as ethically & legally sourced
from private land in Montana. He says the specimens were found out of
situ and have been weathered so much that little scientific data could be
gathered from them.
I want you to know that I am taking your email very
seriously. I am personally going to follow up with this. Our CEO's
husband works in Operations at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in
DC. They are redoing to dinosaur exhibit, so it is swarming with
Paleontologists right now. We are going to send a sample with him to take
to work and get an opinion. As soon as we complete our review, I'll email
you to let you know the outcome.
Again, thank you so much for your feedback. I
sincerely appreciate that you took the time to help to reach out to us about
this, and I can assure you that we are going to do the right thing, once we
consult the experts.
P.S. I sent you a little token of my appreciation that
should arrive at your office soon.
Customer Service Manager
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This email is very promising. It is nice to know that a thoughtful conversation can be shared by strangers over something as conflict-laden as the commercialization of paleontological resources. I was concerned that my point of addressing this as an ethical instead of a legal issue was not articulated well enough, so I spent some time that evening drafting a reply and I will share that letter in the next day or so. In the meantime, Happy Halloween!
-Lee
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@paleeoguy
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