You Too Can Have Your Own Zoo! Or Can You?: Today more and more people are rejecting the common cat or dog as the ideal pet animal to have around the house, and are going in for something a little more exciting. A crocodile for instance, or a tiger, or lion, even a puma - the most dangerous cat of all. Moggy, it seems no longer holds it's monoploy over the domestic fireside, he has become too tam. The wild animal as a pet isn't just the prerogative of those with a handy mansion and grounds either, puma's have been known to live in a two-up and two-down. Isn't it a little dangerous, isn't the animal expensive to feed and exercise, sufficiently? You may well ask, and the answer is. Yes! The ferocity and uncontrollable nature of these beasts can erupt at any moment, particularly when they get beyond the cub stage. An example of this was seen recently when a wild cat ripped the inside of a car apart and attacked it's owner. Yet despite the obvious dangers, and possible inadvertent cruelty to a wild creature caged in domestic surroundings, it is possible for anyone to buy a puma, or any other creature and keep it at home whatever "home" may be. There is no law, or checks against it, no precautions are required of the owner by law, Sheba, a 6 month puma lives with the Hurst family in their terraced home in Newborough, Lancashire. She has her own enclosure in the garden but spends most of her time with the Hurst children, Julia 12, Anthony 8, and Ian 7. The Hursts are now considering acquiring a male companion for Sheba. Sheba may not be quite secure in her new found position in the family hearth though, because following the escape of a fellow puma in Herefordshire, called "Khan", the local M.P. Mr. Peter Temple Morris is to lead an enquiry into the "domestic/wild animal scene" in the House of Commons soon. Khan's escape involved a helicopter search and police alert for 4 days, and much alarm to the local populace.
Photo measures 8 x 10 inches.
Photo is dated --0000.
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