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Crime

Jeweller sentenced over endangered species

A jeweller from Sheffield has been sentenced after she was caught selling jewellery containing tiger claws and teeth on eBay. 

Catherine Emberton, 29, of Gleadless Road, Heeley, was given a 12-month community order, ordered to carry out 120 hours’ unpaid work and to pay a £60 victim surcharge at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, March 30.

A significant part of her trade appeared to consist of jewellery containing tiger teeth and claws, which she was shipping around the globe, according to South Yorkshire Police.

Over an 18-month period, Emberton sold 129 pieces containing tiger parts on the auction site eBay.

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In June, officers from the South Yorkshire Police searched her house, where they found a silversmith’s work bench, jewellery making equipment, claws and teeth set in silver, as well as 23 claws and 10 teeth.

South Yorkshire Police said that most of her adverts carried a ‘rider’, suggesting the items were antiques and were exempt from any requirements for permits. However police said that the items being sold and offered by Emberton did not qualify for this exemption.

The law allows for the sale of antiques, which are classed as ‘worked’, however most of the items Emberton was selling were raw teeth or claws set in metal.

Investigating officer Andy McWilliam from the National Wildlife Crime Unit said: “Any person who chooses to trade in endangered species has a duty to know and comply with the law. The regulations are not an optional extra; they are there to protect species that are at risk.

“Some species, such as tiger are on the brink of extinction. People who offend run the risk of going to prison.”

The conviction was the result of a joint investigation by South Yorkshire Police and the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

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