The Guardian reports: A modern form of grave robbery is flourishing online, experts say, as bone collectors exploit legal loopholes to buy and sell human remains.
In Australia, where it is illegal to buy or sell human remains (albeit with some exceptions), people sell photographs of the remains then add the bones as a “gift”.
While people may trade in remains to make money, some experts say others with the macabre habit of collecting them do so for power, control, and identity.
Damien Huffer, one of these experts, says that some individuals have collections that can rival museums, and Australia’s laws are not sufficient to stop them.
Huffer has studied an Australia-specific tactic, where photographs of human remains are offered for sale with the bones included as a “gift” to get around laws about buying and selling.
