Serval owner says regulation and permitting for exotic cats is needed, not a full-on ban

Courtney Dickson · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 10, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

A serval proprietor and Bengal and Savannah feline breeder successful B.C.'s Central Okanagan is raising concerns astir the province's connection to prohibition the breeding, merchantability and aboriginal ownership of each exotic and non-domestic cats, including servals, ocelots and European wildcats. 

In a quality merchandise connected Tuesday, the state said the animals would beryllium designated arsenic "controlled alien species," a agelong database that includes, but is not constricted to, animals similar giraffes, hyenas, jaguars and polar bears. 

But Sonu De'cruze said it would beryllium much due to modulate breeders and owners and necessitate permits rather than prohibition exotic cats altogether. 

De'cruze owns an eight-year-old serval named Uzi, who she described arsenic "lovely," but who needs a batch of work. 

She's spent thousands of dollars connected enclosures, some indoors and outside, truthful that Uzi tin roam around. She changes up his situation regularly to combat boredom, and helium has a elephantine feline instrumentality to locomotion connected — similar radical walking connected a treadmill, De'cruze said. 

She besides doles retired astir $700 each period connected food: a kibble mixture, earthy nutrient and vitamins and supplements. 

"We've had to beryllium precise peculiar astir his fare from erstwhile helium was rather young, making definite that helium was getting each of the due nutrition," she said. 

De'cruze is committed to owning her serval, truthful overmuch truthful that she doesn't instrumentality vacations, and erstwhile she and her hubby person to permission for emergencies, determination are a prime fewer radical they telephone to attraction for Uzi. 

It's a lot. 

And it's thing De'cruze realizes isn't for everyone, and said it astir apt shouldn't be. 

But, she said, a prohibition connected the cats altogether whitethorn beryllium excessively hasty. 

She worries the prohibition volition unit breeders and owners "underground," and that these cats won't person due attraction due to the fact that owners volition beryllium acrophobic to instrumentality them to the vet. 

"It's conscionable gonna beryllium worse for these cats, if radical are being forced to benignant of bash everything successful secret."

De'cruze besides breeds Bengal and Savannah cats. While neither breed was specifically mentioned successful the province's release, they're often lumped successful with the ones that were. 

Not lone is she acrophobic she won't beryllium capable to ain servals successful the future, but she's besides acrophobic for her business.

"I'm benignant of conscionable sitting successful limbo astatine this point, waiting to spot what happens."

B.C. exotic cat breeder Catherine Joyal said successful an email to CBC News that she is heartbroken by the connection of this ban. 

"It's a bittersweet situation," Joyal said. "I recognize the request for regulation, but I privation the absorption were connected acquisition and liable ownership, not connected punishing the animals themselves."

She agreed with De'cruze that exotic feline ownership is not for everyone. 

"When raised properly, they tin go affectionate, loyal, and genuinely bonzer companions."

Lawyer wants to spot prohibition expanded

Lawyer Rebeka Breder, who specializes successful carnal law, said that portion she understands wherefore idiosyncratic would privation to ain an exotic cat, "there's perfectly nary request whatsoever."

"The bottommost enactment is that they endure successful captivity," she said. "When an exotic animal, erstwhile a chaotic carnal oregon an carnal that's expected to beryllium chaotic inactive has successful his genes and instincts to question hundreds of kilometres and to person a wide territory and to person a wide assortment of antithetic things that they eat, their payment needs simply cannot beryllium met successful a location environment."

Breder wants to spot the prohibition extended to different animals, similar boa constrictors. 

The B.C. SPCA has been an unfastened protagonist of a prohibition connected exotic cats, encouraging British Columbians to motion their petition calling for the regularisation of each exotic animals.

The enactment said the cats are a nationalist information risk.  

Two servals escaped from a breeder connected Vancouver Island successful 2022, and killed a home feline and aggregate home ducks earlier they were captured, the enactment said. 

"People were truly scared," B.C. SPCA main technological serviceman Sara Dubois told CBC News. "They didn't privation their kids walking to the schoolhouse autobus due to the fact that again, these are 40-pound, large, lanky animals, and they could beryllium defensively aggressive."

Further consideration

De'cruze thinks the prohibition connection stems from when, in 2019, the SPCA seized 13 servals from a breeder near Kamloops, B.C., aft they were recovered surviving successful "horrific conditions." At the time, the SPCA said that the thought of these cats surviving successful captivity was "disturbing enough," fto unsocial successful substandard conditions. 

On July 9, the SPCA confirmed successful an email to CBC News that no charges were ever submitted successful that case. 

"The radical that really caused the occupation successful the archetypal spot are walking free," De'cruze said. "Now everybody else is conscionable getting penalized."

De'cruze hopes a small much information goes into the ban. 

While existent owners would beryllium capable to support their cats until their deaths as agelong arsenic they use for escaped permits, De'cruze does anticipation that erstwhile Uzi passes, she whitethorn beryllium capable to get different serval. 

"We would similar to person the enactment to person different 1 if, astatine that clip successful our life, we cognize that we'll beryllium capable to supply the aforesaid level of attraction that we provided for our cat, Uzi."