ALTHOUGH the public mood appears to be moving against wild animals being kept and bred to perform in travelling circuses ordinary members of the public are keeping increasing numbers of exotic creatures as pets.

We hear frequently for example of some of the world’s most dangerous snakes getting out of houses and flats where they were being kept as pets.

Some 25 years ago it was well known that five wallabies which escaped into the Peak District from a zoo had bred and increased to a colony of around 40.

These facts may help to explain why 26 separate sightings of ‘big cats’ have been reported to Lancashire police in the past five years at locations as diverse as rural areas near Chipping, Hoghton, Turton and even Burnley’s Brunshaw estate.

Since 1976 the Dangerous Wild Animals Act has made it illegal for people to keep big cats without a licence and this may be another reason why owners who have pets that have grown beyond their control release them rather than contacting authorities and risking prosecution.

Or it could be that the sightings are well-meant but actually nothing more than overweight tom cats or dogs!