What should I do? (May distress dog lovers)

You could contact an organization that rehabilitates, or raises, wolves. They might be able to look at the picture and confirm your suspicions.

I doesn't look like dog fur of any kind to me, but I have never seen a wolf with these markings either. Why don't you email the seller and ask about the wolf. Where is it from, etc.?

Looks like a feral cat hide to me, but I havent seen a Collie with those markings either. Our Collies may be a little different, but they have a much longer coat.

I'd email them too and try and find out a bit more, my HELP Hub is acting all funky so I cant search the "Animal and Wildlife Products" sections.

Lexie

When I try to search for a wolf like that, it only brings up this instead. Striped Hyaena
Hyaena (Hyaena) hyaena (Linnaeus, 1758)

I had forgotten that in the US, "Collie" is used to refer to a Rough Collie, whereas here we tend to refer to Border Collies as just "Collies".

The markings look rather artificial, and perhaps it has been dyed - I'm sure it's the pelt of a domestic dog, but having looked through eBay's rules on what is allowed, I can't find anything to prohibit items made from the body parts of pets.

I think the only complaint I could make is that the item is being misrepresented - I'm not convinced that it falls under the "offensive" category, because although there would be quite a few people who would find it offensive, there are societies in the world who wouldn't.

SS

I have looked at a few hundred wolf pictures, squeaky. There are so many varieties. If the seller would verify the one the pelt is supposed to be from, it would help or at least the area it is supposed to be from.

Hi Squeaky,
Didn't you have a litter of puppies due around New Year's? How did it go?
I just took a look at that auction. It doesn't look like a collie's coat to me, either. It appears to be brindle, and I've never seen a brindle Border Collie or a brindle Rough Collie. It could be some sort of mix. Or, like you said, it could be dyed. I sure hope it's not a dog's pelt. That would be horrible!! But I'm inclined to agree with Lexie. It looks more like some type of feral cat to me, too.
--Christine

I looked and looked and couldn't find a wolf that matched, falcon.

Hiya Christine

I hope its not a dog pelt either. Would be awful, dont really like the idea of a feral cat either, but they do so much damage over here.

Lexie

Hi Lexie,
I agree. A dog pelt would be awful beyond words.

Are you on break now Christine?

Lexie

No, school just started again. And, of course, none of the work I'd planned to do during break got done. I did a real good job of looking at it and thinking about doing it, though. Does that count for anything? Probably not.
How's life with you? Are you enjoying your summer?
(I like your ornery little yellow guy who's poking his blue buddy in the eye with a stick.)

Just to update you all, I reported this to eBay and they did nothing. The auction ended yesterday and the pelt went for over £20.

Realistically, if this was a large cat, it would have to be a tiger of some sort because what cat is 150cm long?

I still believe that this was a domestic dog, but selling their skins doesn't seem to be against eBay's policies. I would like to write a letter to them about it, but given that they did nothing about this auction, I'm not sure it will make any difference. I hear that the EU are going to start banning the import of domestic dog and cat skins from the Far East, but I did think that there was already a ban in place in the US - is this true?

Perhaps if a law in the US was broken, eBay might take some notice....

SS

Found this with a google search for 'fur pelt import'.

>> Click Here <<

Didn't read it all myself, I'll let you do that.

On a more cheerful note:

The puppies that we were expecting at New Year didn't arrive - it seems that the mother reabsorbed them. Because of this, the friend who owns the mum decided to have two puppies from the litter I bought one from, so there are three new, happy puppies in this area.

My new girl is lovely, but VERY hard work - I wish I had half of her energy!

I'll try and post a photo as soon as she sleeps long enough for me to use my PC at home!

SS