Highland ‘wildcat’ confiscated by Welsh police

An organisation which says it promotes wildcat conservation in areas of Lochaber, including Ardnamurchan, and elsewhere in Scotland, was forced to hand over an orphaned Highland kitten to Welsh police last week.

Officers from North Wales Police’s rural crime team seized the one-year-old, which is thought to be a wildcat, during a search of a property in the Conwy County area last week.

The organisation involved, Wildcat Haven, which is an animal protection firm based in St Asaph, in North Wales, insists it was rehabilitating the animal after finding it injured in the central Highlands, and was planning to release it back into the wild somewhere in the Highlands in the near future.

Wildcat Haven says the cat, christened Finlay, was found in the Highlands in late October 2020. He was placed in the care of the organisation’s most experienced team member who is based in Wales.

A spokesperson for North Wales Police told the Lochaber Times: ‘On Monday 14th February, officers from the Rural Crime Team conducted a search at a property in the Conwy County area.

‘During this search an animal, which is reported as being a European Protected Species, was seized. There is no licence held for that type of animal.

‘North Wales Police is working with partners to ensure the animal is cared for, to confirm whether the animal is a protected species, and to investigate whether an offence under the habitat and species regulations 2017 has been committed.

‘Anyone with information relating to this matter is encouraged to contact police quoting, 21000883036.’

Wildcat Haven did not respond to a request from the Lochaber Times for a comment on the situation regarding Finlay.

However, on Monday of this week on its website, it states that it still has no news on the whereabouts of Finlay, how he is being treated or whose care he is under.

The organisation states: ‘Just to be completely honest with you, we are totally devastated. We have also spoken to John and Angela who originally rescued him and they are heartbroken and in disbelief.

The stress and worry is almost unbearable for us all.

‘We saved his life and watched him grow as you all have, from a tiny, helpless kitten to a magnificent, healthy and strong animal. He was just a few weeks from release.

‘We have sought the best legal help we can and the legal team is working on getting him back. Every additional day Finlay spends away from his rehabilitation enclosure, the bleaker his future looks and that is the most painful aspect of all this.

‘Finlay’s life started terribly, he lost his mother and probably saw his siblings die in the den around him, before he made the brave decision to leave his den to try and find his mother. He has fought so hard and has never given up. That is what we all must do now, we must show the same spirit he has shown and keep fighting for him.’

On its website,

Wildcat

The Scottish wildcat is a protected species whose numbers are dwindling across the Highlands.

Haven said it has now ‘secured’ over 1,000 square miles for wildcats on Ardnamurchan through the humane trapping and neutering of the peninsula’s feral cats.