Dinosaur bones to be protected
The Council of State has ruled that dinosaur bones are national property and should receive state protection.
In response to the ruling, authorities said the dinosaur bones were now among items protected under the Historical Sites, Historical Artefacts and Objets d'Art Act. Fine Arts Department director-general Arak Sanghitkul yesterday said anyone planning to take dinosaur bones out of the country for exhibition purposes must receive permission from his department. Without approval, they could face up to seven years in jail or a maximum fine of Bt700,000, or both. Arak said his department had asked the Council of State to decide on the status of dinosaur bones after seeing many researchers taking bones out of the country for exhibitions. "We are also planning to discuss with the Natural Resource and Environment Ministry on drafting regulations to specially protect the dinosaur bones," he said.
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