Call for new controls on danger pets

THE RSPCA has reported a huge rise in the number of dangerous wild animals kept as pets - and is demanding tighter controls on ownership.

Last year, the animal charity rescued more than 3,700 unwanted or abandoned exotic animals in England and Wales, including a Misssissippi alligator kept in a pond liner in a 10ft bedroom, a spectacled caiman crocodile bought in a pub for pounds 20 and eight deadly snakes recovered from one home.

RSPCA chief veterinary officer Chris Laurence said: "We are deeply concerned about the number of exotic animals, including dangerous wild animals, now being kept as pets and the amount of suffering involved."

"People buy them with little idea of how difficult they are to keep and the animals are neglected when the novelty wears off.

"We are urging the Government to tighten up loopholes in the law."

Copyright 2000 MGN LTD
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.