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Big Cat Mystery Unsolved As Tests On Killed Dog Reveal Badger Hairs.
By Catherine Jones.
THE search for a big cat on the loose in Wales became a political row last night after DNA results on a dead animal become known.
Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Mike German had hardly finished saying that the tests on a whippet found dead on a farm near Llangadog, Carmarthenshire, showed that a leopard did not kill it than people from the area were angrily rejecting the findings.
Electron microscopy analysis of hair found in the dog's mouth and examined at the Government's Central Science Laboratory in York revealed that most of them came from a dog, although it was not possible to identify the breed.
Mr German said there was also evidence that other hairs could be from a badger, although he said the quality of the sample was not good enough for this to be conclusive.
But Dyfed-Powys Police still believe it is possible big cats exist in the area and Rhodri Glyn Thomas, the Plaid Cymru AM for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, is demanding a thorough examination of the situation following the number of credible reported sightings.
The owner of the dead dog, Mike Sheppard, 62, said he was fuming when he heard the news. He claimed he came face-to-face with two big cats "the size of pumas" when the incident happened.
"They don't know what they're talking about," said Mr Sheppard. "One minute they're saying it's a big predator then they're saying it was a dog or a badger. It's been seen. I've seen it. They're just trying to cover it up. Why? I don't know, but it was definitely not a badger that killed my dog."
A puma-like beast roaming across West Wales has been reported five times since it was believed to have attacked and killed the pet dog on January 5.
Professor Alayne Street-Perrot, part of the Exotic Cat Project that is studying these animal sightings across Wales, said there had been more than 90 sightings across South Wales in the past year.
Chief Inspector Nigel Davies of Dyfed-Powys Police said, "There are far too many sightings for there to be nothing there and we still have an open mind."
Mr Thomas said, "It's quite possible dog and badger hairs could have been present in the sample, but the witness is adamant at what he saw.
"I am rather surprised the minister has come to the conclusion he has. We take it for granted that people who live in Carmarthenshire can tell the difference between a badger and a big cat."
Alaric Smith, the zoologist for the Exotic Cat Society, said, "We don't accept these results. We were told by the Assembly's Agriculture and Rural Affairs Department that the samples were heavily contaminated both by human and by dog.
"The samples were left for a couple of days inside the mouth of the dog and they can't even identify half of them. We will be attempting to get the sample to conduct our own analysis - at a more specialised centre."
The National Assembly said the matter was closed.
The Western Mail: 30th January 2003.