B.C. proposes ban on ownership and breeding of exotic cats

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jul 08, 2025 5:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

The British Columbia authorities is proposing to prohibition the breeding, merchantability and aboriginal ownership of each exotic and non-domestic cats, including servals, ocelots and European wildcats. 

The projected changes would adhd the cats to the database of astir 1,200 animals already designated arsenic "controlled alien species" nether the provincial Wildlife Act. 

A connection from the authorities issued Tuesday said the changes respond to "long-standing concerns" from carnal payment organizations and wildlife experts astir nationalist information and biology risks that specified animals pose.

The authorities said the changes would besides payment the animals themselves by creating standards for their keeping.

The projected authorities would let existent owners of specified cats to support them until their deaths, provided they use for escaped permits. 

Provincial instrumentality already prohibits the ownership of ample cats specified arsenic lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards and cheetahs.

While details of the projected authorities are inactive emerging, the projected prohibition fulfils a long-standing request from the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). 

Sara Dubois, main technological serviceman for the SPCA, said successful a January 2023 missive to the Regional District of Nanaimo that section bylaws covering exotic animals, including servals, are insufficient. 

She said the SPCA had asked the provincial authorities "many times implicit the past decade" to see servals and different exotic taxon connected the Controlled Alien Species list. Dubois besides pointed to a provincial run signed by 8,000 radical aft the SPCA seized 13 serval cats from a breeder successful Kamloops successful 2019. 

"The immense bulk of the nationalist supports exotic carnal bans, knowing it is cruel and unsafe to support chaotic animals [whether they originate successful Canada oregon different countries] as pets," she said. 

Dubois had sent her missive to determination officials aft section authorities captured 2 African serval cats successful October 2022 pursuing their flight from a agrarian spot adjacent Qualicum Beach, but lone aft 1 of the animals had killed a home cat, and the different had killed respective ducks. 

"The caller flight of 2 servals successful the Regional District of Nanaimo was shocking for the community, but sadly it was not astonishing to us," Dubois said.

"Despite being calved successful captivity, these exotic cats are not home animals, arsenic domestication takes thousands of years of breeding to achieve."