Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely, is seeking to ban the breeding of wild serval cats with domestic cats to produce Savannah hybrids.
This mating practice can be painful and dangerous for domestic cats and Savannah hybrids are often abandoned.
SERVIVAL campaign
Mr Seely is working in collaboration with the Isle of Wight-based Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, who have campaigned against the breeding of wild and domestic cats through their SERVIVAL campaign.
The Island’s MP has submitted two amendments to the Government’s Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill that seek to ban the breeding of exotic non-domestic cats with domestic cats and prohibit importing hybrid cats from abroad.
Seely: They are not suitable pets
Mr Seely said of his amendments,
“This is an important issue. Savannah cats are, fundamentally, wild animals. They are not suitable pets. Despite this, we’ve seen social media fuel short-lived pet fads.
“Owners often lose interest and abandon Savannah cats.
“I want to make sure we have the right protections in place to stop this from happening.”
Hybrid offspring currently do not require licences
The law currently requires some Serval owners to possess licences. This depends on the generation of the hybrid cat.
The list of species that require a licence was last amended in 2007 to require licences to own the immediate offspring of pure servals and a domestic cat, but subsequent hybrid offspring currently do not require licences.
Bates: The breeding of ‘designer’ hybrid cats has no place in 21st century
Wildheart Animal Sanctuary Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Bates said of Mr Seely’s amendments,
“We welcome Bob Seely MP’s support in championing animal welfare in the UK via these amendments.
“The breeding of exotic felids with domestic cats in the UK to produce ‘designer’ hybrid cats simply has no place in the 21st century. It leads to poor welfare of all animals involved as the offspring cannot be provided for sufficiently in a domestic setting.”
The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill is currently awaiting its Report Stage in the House of Commons. There is no set date for the Bill to return.
News shared by the office of Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Robert Seely, in their own words. Ed
Image: Sokrates 399 under CC BY 2.0
