A Herefordshire woman is calling for stricter controls on people keeping wild animals as pets.
Lindsay McKenna, owner of Wildside Exotic Rescue, has been rescuing exotic wild animals from British homes for 15 years.
“These animals come from backyards and cages. They come from terrible conditions,” McKenna explained.
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spokesperson said the current law was under regular review and anyone wishing to keep an exotic animal would be carefully assessed and would need permission.
Wildside Exotic Rescue currently cares for approximately 200 animals, including mountain lions, zebras, raccoons, and monkeys.
Some were donated by owners who were no longer able to care for them, while others were confiscated by police and local authorities.
It is currently legal to keep wild animals as pets, even if they are considered dangerous, under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.
This law requires owners of such dangerous animals to obtain a permit from local authorities.
Licenses are granted based on several criteria, including safety and where the animals are housed.
But Ms McKenna told the BBC: [wild animals] A license is required, but those that are considered dangerous require a license and the rest do not.
“So out of the 38 species we have here, only six require licensing and inspection.
“Then you can do whatever you want with them. You can abuse them, be cruel to them, or be kind to them.”
Current legislation primarily focuses on animals considered dangerous.
This includes many primates, carnivores, large or poisonous reptiles, and dangerous spiders and scorpions.
But Ms McKenna said this was wrong and that all exotic wild animals, dangerous or not, needed a permit with regular inspections.
Animal rights activists also claimed that the act “mandates cruelty.”
“We want to end the wild pet trade,” she explained.
“Currently it is possible [to own a wild animal] There are few animals that homeowners in the UK cannot afford as they are legal.
“If you like the animal, just take it home and display it in your backyard.
“It's stupid and just as cruel.”
A Defra spokesperson said steps had been taken to increase the maximum prison sentence for animal abuse to five years, and legislation to ban primates from being kept as household pets had been brought forward.
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