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The B.C. government has announced a ban on the breeding and future ownership of all exotic cats in a measure it says strengthens public safety, animal welfare and environmental protection.
The rules, which are effective Friday, designate cats including servals, ocelots and European and African wildcats as controlled alien species.
The Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship says current exotic cat owners in B.C. must apply for a free permit for their animals before next May.
It says exotic cats are skilled hunters and if they escape, they can kill native wildlife, while also damaging sensitive habitats by disturbing vegetation, nesting areas and other critical wildlife spaces.
The rules also ban hybrid cats within four generations, meaning any cat with a great-great-grandparent that was a wildcat species.
Anyone caught violating the new rules could be fined anywhere from $2,500 up to $250,000, or face jail time, the province says.
A statement from the B.C. SPCA says it welcomes the new rules, which result from changes to Wildlife Act regulations.
Sara Dubois, senior director with animal welfare science and standards at the B.C. SPCA, says it’s almost impossible for exotic cats to express their natural, wild behaviour in captivity and they may become depressed and destructive.
Other species that are newly designated as controlled alien species include caracals, Asian golden cats, fishing cats, jungle cats and marbled cats.
Ownership of large exotic cats, such as lions, tigers and jaguars, is already regulated in B.C.