Survey Reveals Over 150 "Big Cats"

Survey Reveals Over 150 "Big Cats" Back to Irish News

Survey Reveals Over 150 "Big Cats"

(+ 2000 ostriches, 500 monkeys and 250 poisonous snakes) in private hands.

BCIB Press release

The Big Cats in Britain Research Group has just published the results of a survey, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, where it approached all 408 local authorities in the country to see how many Dangerous Wild Animals were being kept by licensed private keepers. Animals in zoos do not come under this form of control, and so these figures do not include zoo animals. Under the Dangerous Wild Animal Act 1976 private owners of all animals that are legally deemed to be dangerous are required to purchase, annually, a licence from the local authority. The authority is responsible for inspecting the owner’s premises, setting standards and confirming that the owner carries third party liability insurance for the animal. The authorities are also responsible for seizing and disposing of unlicensed animals.

The results showed 154 assorted cats in private hands, including, 12 Lions, 14 Tigers and 50 Leopards. Some of the smaller cats such as Servals and Leopard Cats are being kept to hybridise with domestic cats to produce the "designer pet" varieties of cat known as Savannahs and Bengals respectively.

Although the survey was conducted to primarily find out how many exotic (i.e. non domestic) cats are in private hands in Great Britain it has revealed some interesting results in relation to other species. There are, for instance, almost 500 assorted monkeys and 2000 ostriches in private ownership as well as over 250 poisonous snakes and 50 members of the crocodile family. Over 300 American Bison are also grazing in our rolling countryside and Wild Boar number over 6000 individuals, at any one time.

Shaun Stevens the BCIB member who has collated these figures said "The information so far is very much raw data and the group will be discussing this information in detail at our yearly British Big Cat Conference in Hull in March 2007. Although these animals are regarded by law as dangerous, the public should rest assured, that these animals very rarely escape; and where escapes are reported the animals tend to be recaptured quickly and without any harm to the public."

Scientific adviser to BCIB Chris Moiser, said that “In this day and age, with so many restrictions on keeping exotic animals, it is a pleasant surprise to see how many people go to such lengths to keep their animals properly and lawfully. It is perhaps concerning though that the majority of escapes seem to be wild boar which have been deliberately released by animal rights activists.”

Mark Fraser, founder of the BCIB Research Group, said "It is not the responsible legal owners that 'lose' their animals, but those that are kept illegally with ill regard and little thought to their welfare. More and more exotic animals are being seen in the British countryside today, making it an interesting place to be. In December of 2006 the Dangerous Wild Animals Act was introduced in Northern Ireland, and it will be interesting to see what effect this has".

For further information on these figures, and to see the full list see the big cats in Britain website www.bigcatsinbritain.org (the website also contains copyright free pictures that may be used in articles) or for further information or quotes contact

Shaun Stevens on 07778 511 679
Mark Fraser on 07940 016 972
Chris Moiser on 07751 363 198

Do you have any information on the above reports. Were you the person involved, or are you aware of any more sightings in this area. We would appreciate any information that you could give us.