The BC government is currently proposing regulation changes that would ban the breeding, sale and future ownership of all cats considered to be ‘exotic’—non-native and non-domestic species of cat.
Presently, lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards and cheetahs are already regulated in BC, but some other exotic cat species are not.
This allows these unregulated exotic cats to be kept as pets, but animal welfare organizations and wildlife experts say they should be regulated as well, due to the public safety and environmental risks they pose.
If this legislation to further regulate exotic cat species is passed, all exotic and non-domesticated cat species would be added to the list “controlled alien species” under the Controlled Alien Species Regulation in the Wildlife Act.
This would see servals, caracals, ocelots, European and African wildcats, Asian golden cats, fishing cats, jungle cats, marbled cats and more added to the list of regulated animals.
The Province says this would help strengthen protections for communities, native wildlife, ecosystems, pets and exotic cats themselves.
This proposed legislation would not seek to remove any exotic cats from their homes. The Province says that anyone with an exotic cat in their life would be allowed to keep their pet for the remainder of its life.
Exotic cat owners would, however, have to apply for a free permit, meet basic care and safety requirements and agree not to breed, sell or acquire any new exotic cats.
As the process moves forward in regards to this legislation, the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship will continue to engage with the public.
There are several serval cats on Vancouver Island specifically. In 2022, many of these cats were all missing at the same time between Victoria, Brentwood Bay and Qualicum Beach.
Oftentimes, when they go missing, media outlets will report on these animals because they may be jarring for the public to see, although they are not typically dangerous to humans.
