The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976
The reason for the existence of big cats in the UK is possibly the result of people keeping these big cats as exotic pets. When the 1976 dangerous wild animals act was brought in, many people could not meet the demands of the act, either due to the expense or lack of secure enclosures or public reaction to dangerous animals being kept as pets close to their homes. So consequently most of the big cats were released into to the wild illegally.
The Act regulates the keeping of certain kinds of dangerous animals as pets. Licences are required for any animal which appears on a schedule to the Act.
Hybrids of domestic animals and the Dangerous Wild Animals Act
The 'Bengal cat' is not a true species but rather a hybrid of the domestic cat crossed with the Asian leopard cat, several generations removed from the wild ancestor. It is not specifically named on the Schedule to the Dangerous Wild Animals Act but it technically falls within the catch-all listing of all species of Felidae (i.e. the cat family) except Felis catus, the domestic cat. Its effective inclusion in the list of affected species has partly arisen as the Schedule pre-dates the breeding of these animals in this country.Other hybrids of Dangerous Wild Animal cat species with domestic cats would also fall within the catch-all listing for Felidae.Local authorities are responsible for licensing and enforcement under the Act. Many exercise their discretion in respect of Bengal cats (for example if the animals are many generations removed from the wild ancestor and are essentially indistinguishable from domestic animals) and regard them as domestic cats and therefore not in requirement of a licence under the Act.
Evidence
Of major interest is the involvement of police wildlife officers, who are called out to investigate sightings and reports of big cats. Their evidence and testimony is of great importance in proving the existence of these creatures. There have been a number of cases where wild life officers have actually obtained paw marks, which have been verified as coming from big cats.
The government needs to take this problem seriously before the public is put at risk. So our aim is to urge the government to take steps to ascertain how many big cats are out there and to take steps to educate people to the dangers if they come across a big cat.
Reporting An Incident
We need the publics help in obtaining information in the form of video, photographs and physical evidence such as fur samples, paw marks and animal kills. To achieve this we encourage members of the public to report their sighting or experiences.
Sightings can be reported by clicking here and filling in the online report form.
Big Cat Monitors is a website dedicated to proving the existence of wild big cats in the United Kingdom. Many people from all walks of life have witnessed large black and brown big cats roaming the British countryside.