Heavens! It’s a meteor outside the front door
(Including alligators, bison, scorpions and King Cobra)
DOORBELL cameras usually reveal little more than everyday visitors such as delivery drivers.
But this one captured something far more spectacular – a meteor flaming across the night sky.
The ‘fireball’ meteor was recorded around 9.55pm on Sunday by a Nest camera on the door of a home in Solihull, West Midlands. More than 120 people around the country have reported seeing it.
Scientists said it was most likely a piece of asteroid entering the Earth’s atmosphere at around 30,000mph, creating a sonic boom before disintegrating.
AS a nation of pet lovers, most of us choose to share our homes with nature’s cuddlier creatures.
But is seems more and more people are answering the call of the wild when it comes to picking a pet.
A survey has found 255 dangerous animals are now being kept in residential properties.
This means often oblivious neighbours are living next door to venomous creatures such as scorpions or snakes, including a deadly Taipan and King Cobra.
Householders have even applied for licences to keep predators such as American alligators and caimans.
Other ‘pet’ choices include 18 ostriches, 19 bison, wild boar and primates such as ring-tailed lemurs. Across the UK, a total of 210 dangerous wild animal (DWA) licences were granted to keep 3,951 creatures including 11 lions, eight tigers, 11 leopards, ten cheetahs, two elephants, zebras and even wolves.
The survey was carried out by Born Free, founded by Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, who starred in the 1966 film of the same name. The charity opposes the exploitation of wild animals in captivity.
Its head of policy, Dr Mark Jones, said there has been a ‘dramatic increase’ in the number of exotic pets in private ownership – with a 94 per cent surge in the number of venomous snakes, a 57 per cent rise in wild cats and 198 per cent increase in crocodiles or similar reptiles. Dr Jones added: ‘These figures are likely to represent only the tip of the iceberg. They only record animals kept and registered with a DWA licence.’
Under current legislation, anyone in Britain can keep a dangerous wild animal as long as they obtain a licence from their local authority. Applicants have to show that their animals are properly contained to prevent escape and protect the public.
But Dr Jones said: ‘Increasing demand for all kinds of wild animals as exotic pets puts owners and the wider public at risk of injury or disease.
‘It also results in serious animal suffering and the demand increases the pressure on many wild populations, which are often already under threat.’