Nearly 4,000 dangerous wild animals, including lions, tigers,
rattlesnakes and crocodiles, are being kept legally as exotic pets in
Britain – an increase of 59 per cent in two decades, according to a new
report.
Elephants, venomous lizards, scorpions, lemurs, pumas,
cheetahs, wolves, zebras, sun bears and camels are also being privately
kept under licence.
Mark Jones, of Born Free, the wildlife charity
that compiled the report, said: “These figures are likely to represent
only the tip of the iceberg. They only record those animals [that are]
being kept and registered with a DWA licence. We believe that many
additional dangerous wild animals are being kept without a licence.”
It’s calling on the Government to immediately review the law and “put a
stop to some of the world’s most remarkable, but often deadly, creatures
being kept as ‘pets’ in unsuitable captive conditions”.
Since the millennium, Born Free has seen a dramatic increase in the
number of exotic pets in private ownership since 2000, including a 94
per cent increase in the number of venomous snakes, a 57 per cent rise
in wild cats and a tripling of crocodiles, alligators and caimans.
Meanwhile, scorpion numbers have soared more than 20-fold.
Currently,
under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, anyone in Britain can keep a
dangerous wild animal as long as they obtain a licence from their local
authority.
The licencing process requires the applicant to
demonstrate that their animals are properly contained so as to prevent
escape and protect the public, but this does little to ensure the
welfare of the animals or the protection of the owner or anyone else
visiting the property, Born Free says.
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