In Britain, calls have been made to tighten controls on the export of valuable fossils
Edward Morello, a Member of Parliament for the Liberal Democrats, has called for changes to export control regulations so that fossils of significant scientific value can be recognized as national treasures. This came after one of the finest private collections of fossils found on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset was sold abroad.
The collection belonged to Chris Moore, a private collector from Dorset, and included hundreds of specimens, including ichthyosaurs. It was sold to the Abu Dhabi Museum of Natural History for a sum that a source told The Guardian was in the eight figures. The collection had previously been offered to the Natural History Museum in London and Amgueddfa Cymru—the National Museum of Wales—but those institutions lacked the funds to purchase it.
The management of the museum in Lyme Regis stated that it had not been informed of the upcoming sale and had not been given the opportunity to purchase the entire collection or any part of it. Museum Director Bridget Housago noted that current British regulations governing the export of cultural property do not cover fossils and other natural history objects, as they are not man-made artifacts. Therefore, some important and rare fossils can be sold without an export license.
For more breaking news, follow the UA.News Telegram channel.
The Lyme Regis Museum considered Moore’s collection to be one of the finest private collections of Lower Lias fossils from Dorset, which included several unique specimens. Jonathan Evans, chair of the museum’s board of trustees, stated that neither Chris Moore, nor the Natural History Museum in London, nor the National Museum of Cardiff had contacted the institution regarding the possible acquisition of the specimens.
Hausago and Evans propose extending the Waverley criteria to fossils of exceptional scientific or national importance. If an item meets at least one of these criteria, its export could be temporarily blocked to give museums and other organizations time to raise funds for its acquisition. They also call for notifying all accredited museums of the sale of important collections and for supporting the creation of a national registry of significant fossil finds.
Morello wrote to Fiona Twycross, the Minister for Museums, Heritage, and Gambling, asking whether the government would consider postponing or suspending the export of the collection. The Abu Dhabi Museum of Natural History previously reported that most of Moore’s collection has already been put on public display. According to The Guardian, there is no reason to believe that the sale of the collection violated existing regulations.
