Dangerous wildcats being kept as pets in worrying trend driven by social media

WILDCATS that have been found on the loose are the most popular dangerous animal to keep legally as pets, according to new data.

More than 2,700 wild animals classified as dangerous are currently registered to private owners, the campaign group Born Free has found.

Among them are 53 servals, a wildcat native to Africa, that can grow to a metre and weigh up to 18kg, as well as 43 other hybrid wildcats. Servals can cost up to £10,000 as pets.

Born Free said the rising popularity of wild cats, which are the most licensed of the listed wild dangerous animals, was a “troubling trend” that had been driven by social media.

It warned that hybrid breeds such as the savannah, which are the offspring of domestic and wild cats, no longer required a licence, “despite the high representation of wild genes which remain within the animals”.

Armed police were called to Hampstead Heath in 2020 after reports of a “big cat” on the loose that turned out to be a domestic savannah.

In 2017, a family from Oldham, Manchester, with two young children told the media their serval cat was among the first domesticated in the UK.

Owner Kelly Jones said their cat Anubis, which they fed a diet of mice, rabbit and chicks, was more dangerous than the hybrid savannah breed. “He would attack if he felt under threat, he has huge fangs and claws that would cause some serious damage,” she said.

Under domestic wild animals licensing, owners must inform the council, who may require an outdoor area and surveillance to be set up for serval cats.

Servals and savannah cats are among 200 wild cats, 250 primates and 400 venomous snakes registered to private owners in the UK.

This includes several wolves, lions, and pygmy hippos kept at private zoos, and dozens of ostriches, bison and wild boar.

Bolsover in Derbyshire is home to more than 20 venomous snakes, including the pit viper and a Chinese cobra, which has been known to eject venom up to two metres.

The charity found there were 10 times as many venomous snakes in homes than there were in UK zoos. There are also dozens of crocodiles and alligators on the list, including 38 living in Havant, near Hampshire.

Born Free, which obtained the data through Freedom of Information requests, is calling for more restrictions on domestic ownership of dangerous wild animals, and says their complex needs cannot be met in captivity.

“Wild animals being kept in domestic settings also presents a very real risk to public safety,” the charity said.

“These animals retain many of their natural, wild behaviours, and being kept in stressful, unnatural, confined environments, can potentially make them more dangerous.”

‘He would attack if he felt under threat, he has huge fangs and claws that would cause serious damage’