WILD CATS, NOT PETS
Speak up for servals and other wild cats in B.C.
Troubling, but true – an estimated 146,000 wild cats are currently kept as pets in Canada. Following the death of a woman in 2007 by a caged tiger, B.C. implemented new rules to ban dangerous pets like lions and tigers. But other animals like servals and caracals – wild cats native to Africa – slipped through the cracks.
In the absence of regulation, more than 70% of the servals kept as pets in Canada are in B.C. Servals, and other wild cats, suffer in captivity due to inadequate care, stress and confinement. Escapes, injuries and attacks can and do happen.
Finally, B.C. is proposing regulation changes that would stop the suffering of these wild cats in captivity. The changes would ban the breeding, sale and future ownership of all non-native and non-domestic cat species. Current owners would be required to apply for a permit, and would not be able to breed, sell or acquire new animals – making this the last generation of wild cats to suffer.
The solution is close. We need you to speak up and tell the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship that you support the regulation of all exotic cats.
Take action: Send an e-letter to B.C.’s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship now!
