WOLVES, baboons and lemurs are being kept in homes across Berkshire and you could be living next door to one.

A new survey carried out by Born Free has revealed 43 'dangerous' wild animals are being privately kept in homes across the county.

Residents must obtain a Dangerous Wild Animal (DWA) 1976 licence from the local authority in order to keep an exotic pet.

The person must show the animal is properly contained to prevent it from escaping and to protect the public.

Bracknell News:

But according to international animal charity Born Free, the DWA Act has not been reviewed for more than 40 years excluding exotic animals such as Komodo dragons and large constrictor snakes which could pose a serious risk to their owners, and to members of the public, should they escape.

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The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has granted cover for 33 dangerous wild animals of which there are at least 33 primates including Ring-tailed lemurs, Hamadryas baboons, and Rhesus macaques.

Other animals being kept in Windsor and Maidenhead include a Crab Eating Macaque (8), one velvet monkey and two Capuchin Monkeys.

In West Berkshire, the authority has granted a licence for 10 wolves to be kept.

Across the UK, a total of 210 DWA licences were granted for the keeping of 3,951 individual wild animals including: 11 lions, eight tigers, 11 leopards, 18 pumas, 10 cheetahs, two ligers and one jaguar.

Other animals being kept in people's homes/private collections in the UK include:

•274 primates (including over 150 lemurs)

•158 crocodilians

•508 venomous snakes (including 57 diamondback rattlesnakes)

•332 scorpions

•106 venomous lizards

•2 elephants

Other species on the DWA list that are being kept as pets or in private collections in the UK include zebras, camels, fossa (a kind of civet), hyaena, sun bears, wolves, and otters.

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Dr Mark Jones, Veterinarian and Born Free’s Head of Policy, said: “Born Free has been collating and analysing DWA data for over 20 years. Since the millennium the wild animal welfare and conservation charity has seen a dramatic increase in the number of exotic pets in private ownership, including a 94 per cent increase in the number of venomous snakes, 57 per ecnt increase in wild cats, 198 per cent increase in crocodilians and over a 2000 per cent increase in scorpions.

"However, these figures are likely to represent only the tip of the iceberg. They only record those animals being kept and registered with a DWA licence.

"Born Free believes that many additional dangerous wild animals are being kept without a licence.”

Click the link here https://www.bornfree.org.uk/dwamap to see the interactive map.