A woman from Kings Langley has been given a police order after she tried to sell a 1960s coat made out of genuine fur from a medium-sized cat.

The woman, aged 18 and from Chipperfield, had attempted to sell the garment made from ocelot fur online before the UK National Wildlife Crime Agency alerted police.

An ocelot is a wild cat native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita.

Officers subsequently made contact with the woman and she agreed to a Community Resolution Order - which is used to resolve minor offences through informal agreement rather than the courts.

It was used to educate the woman around the law of the matter and to encourage her to conduct her own research on selling fur items.

Sergeant Ryan Hemmings, from the Rural Operational Support Team, said: “Offering to sell genuine fur from protected or endangered species, without having specific paperwork, is an offence and contravenes the CITES legislation (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).

“Please let this be a lesson to anyone thinking of selling genuine fur; if you do not have the correct paperwork and authority, you are breaking the law and appropriate action will be taken.”

You can report information online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101.

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