He could get 1-5 years in prison and a fine of $2,500 for selling two bear mounts at the River Town Antiques Mall in Scottsville. He was selling the mounts for his brother-in-law. Arrested by an undercover game warden posing as a customer, Bean claims he did not know he was breaking Virginia law, which prohibits the sale and purchase of “any wild animal.”

River Town Antiques mall owner Cameron Crounse said he had no idea it was illegal to sell a mounted animal in Virginia. He said the undercover officer with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries threatened to arrest him, and one of his cashiers.

At the time of the arrest, and only minutes before the threat, Crounse said he asked the officer why he didn’t just tell the business they were breaking the law.

“We would have taken it down immediately,” Crounse said. “But this guy told me, ’nah, if I told people they were breaking the law then I wouldn’t catch the bad guys. You’d just sell it out the back door.’”

Bean, a 46-year-old construction worker, began renting a booth earlier this year in the hopes of making a little extra money after business began slowing down.

“I really don’t know much about antiques,” he says. “I just buy things I like and are unique, and put them in the booth … it’s a little spending money.”

In May, Bean brought two stuffed bears into his both – one a full mount, the other only the stuffed head of the animal. To generate interest, an employee at the River Town Antiques mall in Scottsville put an advertisement on Craig’s List.

Immediately, Bean got a call from an interested buyer, and they agreed to meet at the antique mall the next day. That’s when the interested buyer turned out to be an undercover cop.

“They put the steel cuffs on me right there,” Bean said. “They really tightened them down … I was in them for three hours. I kept asking the guy if he could loosen them … I’m not a criminal.”

The cuffs were never loosened. Bean said he had bruises on his wrists three days later.

Bean has never been charged with a violent felony.

Bean said he appeared in the Albemarle County General District Court June 9, where the prosecution tendered a plea agreement. The Commonwealth of Virginia would drop the felony charge, if Bean would plea guilty to a misdemeanor, which would include a six-month jail sentence.

“I told them, no way,” Bean said. “I’ll take this thing (in court) as far as I can.”

Bean hired an attorney to represent him, he said. “It’s already cost me $1,000, and days off work.”

Crounse said he has sold several animal mounts at River Town, and has seen them selling in other antique shops in the state.

“I have committed at least a dozen felonies,” Crounse said. “This is the most arbitrary and capricious law I have ever seen. They’re going after any target they can, regardless of the initial intent of the law. This law was enacted to conserve wildlife, animals that are indigenous to Virginia … it’s intent wasn’t to arrest someone selling his grandfather’s deer mount.”

In Virginia, it is illegal to sell a mounted indigenous animal unless you are a taxidermist (who cannot sell it for “profit),” or an auctioneer at auction.

State laws vary drastically.

Technically, by legal definition, a seller – or buyer – of any animal mount in many states across the country can be arrested. And, any antique dealer with taxidermy items would be well advised to study the law. Or laws; there is a mountain of international, federal and state laws regulating the sale of dead wild fowl, animals and fish.

Many times the laws are vague and open to interpretation. There are state laws that conflict with federal laws. There are “blue laws” that are outdated, or overlooked.

Or so says, noted taxidermist, artist and environmentalist W.T. Gaither from the Houston area of Texas.

“Often, the legislators are listening to the wrong person,” Gaither says. “These legislators only respond to two things – that’s money or pressure. Good legislation, to my mind, is not made to protect but made to conserve wildlife. And there’s a vast difference.”

At 69 years old, Gaither has worked as a wildlife artist for more than 45 years. He has travelled the world, and has worked on a wide variety of mounts from Africa, Asia and throughout North and South America.

The laws themselves, Gaither says, make it a jungle out there.

“All states have unique situations and laws,” he says. “Many states have “blue” laws that are enforced at whim. You have to be careful. Some states have regulations governing everything from caterpillars to groundhogs nowadays.”

Nonetheless, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

“Basically, an antique dealer needs to learn the state laws,” he said. “And finding these regulations is not always an easy task. First off, I would go the local enforcement officer and ask him if it’s legal or not. But, there’s a lot of times he doesn’t know – so don’t take his word for it.”

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service provides a Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) that lists a multiple number of statutes dealing with a broad spectrum of issues and species.

Then – in many cases, Gaither says – a dealer may need to know what the laws are for mounts sold to out of state buyers (exported), in addition to what the law may be in each state of business.

“There’s an abundance of laws out there,” he says. “And, I’m not saying that they’re all bad … but some just aren’t very well thought out. My personal feeling is that once an animal is mounted, it becomes a man’s personal property. He should not be regulated by the government. It should be his right to do whatever he wants with that piece … but, like I said, there’s lawmakers who listen to the wrong people, and law enforcement officials who don’t always know what they’re doing … I don’t envy (any dealer), but be careful … good luck, you’re gonna need it.”

Eric C. Rodenberg