73 exotic wild animals living in Wiltshire
Could a potentially dangerous animal be living next door to you?
It's been revealed that 73 animals classified as dangerous, including a number of venomous snakes, are being kept as pets in Wiltshire.
Research by wildlife charity Born Free found almost three thousand dangerous animals are privately owned in the UK.
They're calling for tough legislation to minimise public risk and safeguard the welfare of the animals.
Dr Mark Jones, Born Free's Head of Policy, said: “It is unbelievable that, in this day and age, so many dangerous animals, including big cats, large primates, crocodiles and venomous snakes, continue to be legally kept in people’s homes.”
Here's a list of all the known dangerous animals being kept in Wiltshire as pets:
Common Brown Lemur: 2
Collared Brown Lemur: 1
American Plains Bison: 47
Bactrian Camel: 3
Ocelot: 2
Asian Leopard Cat: 5
Serval: 1
Savannah Cat: 1
Wolf: 4
Ring-Tailed Lemur: 3
King Cobra: 1
Siamese Peninsular Pit Viper: 1
Pope’s Pit Viper: 1
Hagen’s Pit Viper: 1
The charity says having these sort of animals in a home can result in the safety of people and other animals being compromised.
Wild animals have not been bred over generations to live alongside humans and have complex physical, psychological, nutritional, social, and environmental needs which cannot be met by a life in captivity.
The result is the animal suffering poor health, psychological damage and added strain pressure on wild populations of many threatened species.
Urgent action demanded
The charity has been campaigning to ensure the welfare of exotic animals is protected being kept as 'pets' since 2005.
They've monitored the scale of dangerous wild animal ownership closely since 2017 and remain concerned over the volume of exotic animal ownership.
They're calling on the government to review the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, demanding improved regulation that will ensure far greater restrictions on the trade in, and keeping of, wild animals as ‘pets’ in the UK. The country needs better legislation which fully considers:
• Whether individual animal welfare needs can be fully met, and owners have the necessary qualifications and experience and can provide the right environment to meet those needs
• Whether the trade is likely to compromise the conservation of species in the wild
• Potential environmental concerns, such as the escape of potentially invasive species
• Risks to public and animal health & safety, including the spread of zoonotic diseases
Chris Lewis, Born Free’s Captivity Research Officer said: “The Dangerous Wild Animals Act was intended to make the keeping of such animals categorised as “dangerous” a wholly exceptional circumstance. However, Born Free’s ongoing research paints a very different picture.
"Many members of the public will rightly be shocked to learn of so many animals being kept by private keepers. Yet, at its core, the Act is based upon the assumption that it is possible to keep dangerous wild animals in a way that minimises or eliminates risk to the public and in a manner that meets an animal’s welfare needs.
"This has resulted in legislation being reactionary, struggling to keep pace with ever-changing scientific evidence and becoming increasingly out-of-date. The regulations pertaining to the keeping and trading of wild animals kept as pets are in urgent need of review.”