I have no idea. All I know is that I tell the guard it is "live coral", and he asks how much it's worth, and away I go. Maybe he's not supposed to let me take it??
I'm not sure. It is a very small border crossing. I get people from the US to send it to my US postal box (via UPS or USPS overnight), I pick it up there (which is only about 2 km into the US), and I drive it back through the border. As long as it's less than $100 I rarely get charged any duties. I get orchids the same way, and I know orchids can't cross the border in the mail. I
have to go pick them up, and then it's ok.