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1.
Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976
When we
introduced Bengals into the U.K. in 1991, we did so with the
legal advice that a dangerous wild animal licence was required
for the ALC and the first generation hybrid (F1). That advice
was based on the wording of The Dangerous Wild Animals Act
1976 (DWA 1976). The DWA 1976 was a law introduced to protect
the general public due to an increase in people keeping large
wild animals such as lions and tigers, without proper security.
The thought of such animals escaping and roaming suburbia
prompted the Government to take action.
Later,
in 1984 the Act was extended and annexes were added to include
other animals, snakes and reptiles, etc., that were also considered
a threat to humans. At this time all the small wild felidae
were added and this included The Asian Leopard Cat, i.e. Prionailurus
Bengalensis, sometimes known as Felis Bengalensis.
It was
made very clear in the Act, that it was not the intention
to stop people owning these animals, but to ensure the safety
of the general public by proper security measures. It was
also clearly indicated in the Act that it should apply only
to animals that were actually dangerous to humans and posed
a serious threat.
The recent
overhaul of the Act made substantial changes across the whole
spectrum of species affected by this legislation. A serious
attempt was made to identify species that should be considered
dangerous and to remove those that posed no threat. The welfare
of species remaining subject to the Act was also given greater
attention and conditions were relaxed for keeping them wherever
appropriate.
Licensing
by Local Authorities was also simplified, but penalties for
breaking the Act were increased.
After
several years of sometimes heated debate with DEFRA, the position
of Bengals remains much the same as the original Act. D.W.A.
licences are required for the Asian Leopard Cat and the F.1
Hybrid.
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