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lily_secret 's review for:
The Feather Thief
by Kirk Wallace Johnson
Fascinating look into the arcane and obsessive world of the vintage fly-tying community. This true tale revolves around the theft of a number of priceless and scientifically invaluable bird skins from a museum in England and the apprehension of the culprit. The book is well written and moves along at a brisk pace.
The story exposes a lesser known area of wildlife trafficking involving the buying and selling of the feathers belonging rare or endangered birds, solely for the purpose of recreating Victorian era salmon fishing flies. Much of this trade takes place on Ebay and the company is doing little but paying lip service to halting these sales. Of course, it is the fly-tying community itself that creates demand for these feathers, making these buyers morally equivalent to the end purchasers of elephant ivory and rhino horn.
The story exposes a lesser known area of wildlife trafficking involving the buying and selling of the feathers belonging rare or endangered birds, solely for the purpose of recreating Victorian era salmon fishing flies. Much of this trade takes place on Ebay and the company is doing little but paying lip service to halting these sales. Of course, it is the fly-tying community itself that creates demand for these feathers, making these buyers morally equivalent to the end purchasers of elephant ivory and rhino horn.