Scotland residents legally keep venomous reptiles and ostriches as pets, sparking worries.
At least 120 dangerous wild animals live in homes across Scotland residing in seven regions. Councils got requests to share details. Dumfries and Galloway has the most, while Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire have some too. Perth and Kinross, Angus, and other areas also permit them. Recent pig and lynx dumps raised concerns.
Someone in Banff, Aberdeenshire, keeps ten ostriches. They live in open sheds with straw bedding. The council checked their fencing recently. It’s deer fencing and supposedly escape-proof. The sheds seem good for the animals.
Aberdeen has one venomous reptile which lives in a secure vivarium, but they wouldn’t say what kind it is though. An owner in Angus holds a special license to keep eighteen exotic animals. This includes alligators, crocs, and snakes.
This person has African Dwarf Crocodiles and Dwarf Caimans. Two American Alligators are there too. West African crocodiles also live there. A Gila Monster, a venomous lizard, completes the collection.
They have Gaboon and Butterfly vipers, snakes that come from Africa. Eyelash vipers are present as well, and a rattlesnake from the US also lives there. Wild boars live in two areas, with six residing in East Ayrshire protected by electric fences.
Forty more wild pigs live near Castle Douglas, behind high stout wire and electric fences. Dumfries and Galloway also has camels; six of them live on private land. Perth and Kinross has bison and Mongolian horses, as well as Mouflon sheep.
These wild sheep come from other countries. Council bosses kept the location secret and hid details about living spaces. Fife has one dangerous animal, a Savannah cat hybrid in Thornton which lives in a secure enclosure.
Four lynx cats were dumped in the Cairngorms recently, found near Kingussie. One died, but three went to Edinburgh Zoo. No one privately owns lynx cats in Scotland. More feral pigs were dumped near Kingussie too.
The dumped pigs were captured and killed. The Scottish Gamekeepers Association spoke out, calling it a selfish act. This jeopardized the animals and risked livestock and people.