Petition for reforming laws on wild animals as pets surpasses 10,000 signatures
The UK government is now obligated to provide a response to the petition supported by Born Free, calling for review and reform of dated legislation.
Pet serval (c) Born Free
Following the release of Born Free’s latest data on the number of dangerous wild animals kept privately in the UK, an official Government e-petition was launched in July, calling for an overhaul of the laws that govern which wild animals can legally be traded and kept as pets.
With the help of Born Free’s supporters, the e-petition has now surpassed 10,000 signatures, which will trigger a response from the Labour government on the issue.
Born Free’s recent campaign ‘50 Years. Still Dangerous. Still Wild. Still Legal’ highlighted that the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (DWAA) is no longer fit for purpose. It was originally introduced to control the private keeping of animals considered to pose a risk to the public, but Born Free’s research found that more than 2,200 dangerous wild animals are being kept privately under licenses issued by local authorities.
The research revealed several alarming trends, including increases in the number of both venomous snakes and dangerous primates kept under licence in the past three years.
Born Free visited Wildside Exotic Rescue to highlight to issue (c) Jacob King/PA Media Assignments
The number of animals being kept with a DWAA licence is just the tip of the iceberg – hundreds of species of wild animals require no licence at all, and there may be many more animals covered by the Act that are being kept illegally, under the radar.
Whether considered dangerous or not, most wild animals simply cannot thrive in captivity, and are inherently unsuited to life as ‘pets’.
The current legal framework is fragmented and outdated, and is failing to protect animal welfare, biodiversity and public health. This is why Born Free and many other animal welfare organisations are calling on the Government for a comprehensive review and reform of the laws in England and Wales.
Dr Mark Jones, Head of Policy at Born Free, said: “The Dangerous Wild Animals Act was designed to make the keeping of such animals a wholly exceptional circumstance. 50 years on, it is clearly not fit for purpose. Successive governments have failed to address the serious welfare and public health issues that surround the keeping of wild animals as pets.
“The petition reaching 10,000 signatures will put the issue on the government’s radar and elicit a written response, but we want to see this go all the way to the House of Commons. If the petition reaches 100,000 signatures, it will be put forward for debate in Parliament, and we may finally see the change that is so desperately needed. So please, if you have not yet signed the petition, do so today and help us keep wild animals where they belong – in the wild.”
You can pledge your support for the campaign using the button below, which will take you through to the official government e-petition.