1930s Ocelot Coat - legal to import?

I recently bought a very beautiful vintage coat from an antiques market in London, i was told it is 1930s Ocelot. There are no labels in the coat, and after a bit of searching online i am inclined to believe it might be more likely to be Geoffroy's Cat.

I will be travelling to Canada in a week's time and I can't quite find a straight answer online as to whether it is legal for me to bring this coat with me.

It is not for commercial use, and from what i can gather from my reading it should be legal to bring into the country if it is pre-1977... obviously i have no documentation to prove anything of the sort, nor can i prove the animal that the fur is from.

Any help anyone could give would be greatly appreciated!

 

If it was me, I'd leave the coat at home. Why ask for trouble and you never know if you're gonna get that one damn Customs officer who happens to know everything about the Fish & Wildlife policy and immediately recognizes the cat fur regardless what specific type it is. It happened to me once with a snakeskin bag but as luck would have it, it was priced very low so the officer assumed it was just the texture (only saw the invoice) and let's just say I'm a good liar.

The thing is, chances are it's illegal to bring into another country even if it's for personal use and that's a chance you shouldn't take.

 

LOL about the wrapped presents. I was in US Customs once when 5 ladies (70+) came in all in a huff. Get this, they had been pulled in because 4 of them had wrapped bday presents in the trunk for the 5th (they were joining friends in the US for her party) and they refused to tell the officer at the booth what was inside them and spoil the surprises for the bday girl. They were pulled in and proceeded to have a little party in the seating area where the bday girl could open her gifts, albeit in front of an officer. There were a lot of people in there and no one was looking at the ladies - they were glaring at the officer for being such a jerk. Those ladies had balls of steel let me tell you, the officer even told them they could be arrested for defying a customs official and they kept right on opening gifts (handmade woolens to boot, nearly peed my pants laughing). I was so proud of them.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. I've taken a few photos which i'll upload shortly, Caryn (or anyone) if you could help identify it for me it would be much appreciated

I phoned the UK department for wildlife import/export today (AHVLA) and was told that yes i definitely do need a CITES certificate to re-export this, and i also need to have a furrier or clothing expert of some kind look at the coat and verify that they believe it to be pre-CITES (1977?). Its rather inconvenient as i am supposed to be leaving the UK in 7 days but i think i might leave the coat here with family until i get the necessary documentation. I'm not really willing to part with it!

Does anyone have any idea how much this coat should be worth? It is in great condition apart from expected wear on the edges of the lapels (evident in photographs) and one small repair job in the leather on the shoulder, which is not visible unless very closely inspected. Oh, also the fur on the underside of the sleeves appears to have a bit of wear as the guard hairs have been worn away and the texture of the fur is therefore not shiny and fluffier in appearance.

 

There is a shadow cast across the lower half of the garment - this is not a change in colour of the fur, but rather a table which was in the way of the light when i took the photo!

 

Also, the lining is in great condition but obviously has aged.
No labelling whatsoever - perhaps it has been re-lined at some point?
And it is a UK size 8-10. Fits me beautifully, how ironic!

 

Thanks Ruth. Yes... I'm beginning to think my best option with this coat might be to leave it in the UK with a family member and just make sure i take the opportunity to wear it whenever i am back!

And yes i think you are right, the antiques dealer who sold it to me has definitely broken the law on some level - even if this is pre-1947, he hasn't supplied me with any evidence to say so.

 

Hmm. I bought it from a dealer at London's Spitalfield market thursday antiques fair. They had by far the best selection of pieces in the market, what i would call "proper" vintage pieces, really special quality textiles and such. I did mention that i would be going to Canada and was concerned customs might pull me up on the fur, but they shrugged it off saying they fly with suitcases of furs all the time. No doubt they knew exactly what the laws for re-exporting are.

I might get an "expert" to look at it at some point in the future, and if all seems well apply for the CITES certificate to have it re-exported. I move between countries too often at the moment for it to be worth all the back-and-forth and paperwork. In the meantime, i guess my grandma could wear it on her weekly trip out to Tesco if she liked!!