CALL OF THE WILD; REVEALED: The exotic pets brought to Midland homes.

Byline: BY JONNY GREATREX

IT is annoying when the next door neighbour's cat prowls through your garden, leaving a mess.

But what if the prized pet happens to be a more fearsome feline, such as a TIGER?

Or even a pair of hungry alligators?

Midland animal lovers are shunning traditional pets in favour of exotic species.

In the last 12 months councils across the region have granted licences to keep everything from alligators to monkeys, lemurs and tamarins.

There was even an application to keep a tiger in a Wolverhampton garden.

It was later withdrawn because council chiefs ruled the suburban semi could not safely house a huge wild cat.

But there were no such problems with a couple of Chinese alligators.

Their mystery keeper has successfully applied to Walsall Council for a licence for the dangerous reptiles.

"In the last 12 months a licence has been issued to a man in Aldridge in respect of two Chinese alligators," Walsall Council principal environmental health officer Clive Potts told the Sunday Mercury.

"Over the last five years, four have been issued to the same man for the same alligators.

The licence is renewable annually."

Anyone wanting to keep an exotic animal must get a licence for it under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.

They should only be issued when a local authority is satisfied the animalwould not be a danger to the public, the owner is suitable and the accommodation is adequate and secure.

It is Mr Potts' job to carry out these checks, and he has no concerns about the alligators.

"They have got a purpose-built enclosure in a detached building, " he explained.

"It is fully heated and has a pond for them, I would say it is about 15ft by 12ft and the animals are about 4ft long.

"There is no way they could get out. I am not worried about that."

Dangerous

The endangered reptiles are usually only found in China's Yangtze River, where there are thought to be less than 200 left. They can grow up to seven feet long and usually eat rats.

Despite being considered a docile member of the reptile family, they are still capable of devouring a human.

And animal experts are warning they should not be kept as pets.

"These are dangerous beasts," said Dudley Zoo spokeswoman Jill Hitchman.

"You simply cannot hand-rear a reptile like that. They need expert care.

"We had to look after a Nile crocodile in 1977 because it was rejected by its mother.

After a few weeks it had to be left on its own. It shouldn't be hard finding alligators in Aldridge - just look for the area where people have fingers and limbs missing."

Elsewhere, a licence for a lemur and tamarins was issued by Solihull Council.

"One licence in Solihull is for the keeping of lemurs and tamarins," a spokesman confirmed.

Mrs Hitchman believes these should not be kept a in a domestic setting either.

Dudley Zoo has a one-acre walk-through enclosure that houses 30 lemurs as part of a conservation programme.

"When kept as pets, small monkeys do not pose a risk to humans," she said. "But they should be kept as part of a breeding group. Lemurs are on the endangered list, and any that are not in the wild should be in conservation programmes.

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