Hertfordshire police raid reality-TV show, seizing a fur coat belonging to lead singer of 1980s glam-pop group Dead Or Alive and catty transvestite, Pete Burns, after he claimed that it was made of gorilla fur; the police have warned Burns that he may face five years in prison if it is, in fact, made of gorilla fur, which is prohibited under endangered-species legislation. Hardcore animal-rights advocates PETA praise the Hertfordshire Constabulary's actions, as this is exactly the sort of thing police should be making a priority; that and prosecuting meat-eaters for murder and pet owners for false imprisonment and such. Meanwhile, blogging magistrate Bystander
is not amused:
We are told, often correctly, that some of our fellow citizens are afraid to leave their homes, that drug crime is rampant, and anarchy rules our sink estates. So the 'Wildlife Officer' (what's wrong with having a few 'lowlife officers'?) sits down with museum experts to investigate the provenance of a coat. Yes, that's right, a coat. Meanwhile, in court today, I have been forced to adjourn a number of cases because the 'overstretched' police haven't provided information to the CPS in time to allow a trial to proceed.
Come on. Anyone who knows anything about vintage fur would take one look at that thing and see it's colobus monkey. They aren't an endangered specied but they are protected under Appendix II of CITES and Pre-Convention Exemptions which state that specimens imported before CITES went into effect are exempt from CITES regulations. Even now, colobus monkey coats can move from country to country with the appropriate export permit. Monkey coats were extremely fashionable in the 30s and 40s. Ever look at a gorilla and you can tell that their fur is much coarser that that of the colobus monkey. Pete Burns is a moron and so is PETA.