A beauty salon boss has been landed with a hefty bill for keeping an African wildcat as a pet at his south London home.
James Brown, 36, of Roehampton House, Roehampton, was convicted of keeping a dangerous wild animal without a licence at a previous hearing at Lavender Hill Magistrates' Court.
He failed to respond to the summons, so the offence was proven in his absence.
Brown also failed to attend for sentencing at the same court on Thursday, 11th February 2021.
Keeping a dangerous wild animal without a licence is an offence under section 1 of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. The maximum penalty on summary conviction is a fine at level 5 (unlimited).
Wandsworth Council brought the prosecution after quite a protracted investigation, which you can read more about on its website.
The offence related to Brown's keeping of a serval, which is close relative of the cheetah.
Servals, which can run at speeds of up to 55 mph and leap 12 ft in the air, are not generally considered as suitable pets. Apart from a few exceptions, they cannot be kept legally in the UK unless covered by a licence.
Brown had made tentative enquiries about licensing a serval called Zena, but had failed to submit an application. Even if he had, there was no way the council would have granted a licence for keeping a dangerous wild animal in such a densely populated, residential area.
He was living at a property in Old Devonshire Road, Balham, at the time and had told council officers that he was planning a move to the neighbouring borough of Lambeth.
However, two months later a concerned member of the public contacted the council having seen Zena sitting on a windowsill at the Old Devonshire Road property.
When the council made further enquiries, Brown falsely stated that he no longer owned Zena. He also reiterated his intention of moving to Lambeth.
The trail went cold for a further six months until another member of the public reported seeing Zena sitting on a windowsill at a property in Vitali Close, Roehampton. The council quickly confirmed that Brown now resided at the property.
Animal welfare officers, accompanied by the police, visited the property and seized Zena. Brown stated that Zena was not a serval, but was actually a less dangerous species of wildcat.
Brown also claimed that he had been in contact with a named council officer about licensing Zena. Unfortunately for him, the officer he name-dropped was actually present and knew nothing about a licence application.
Over following months Brown gave several media interviews in which he claimed to have been actively seeking a licence for Zena. He told journalists that he rehomed the animal as an act of benevolence to a previous owner, but enquiries revealed that he had actually purchased Zena from a company in Russia.
District Judge Adrian Turner fined Brown £1,000 and ordered him to pay £4,000 towards prosecution costs and £181 victim surcharge.
He was also disqualified from keeping dangerous wild animals for a period of two years.
Councillor Steffi Sutters, cabinet member for community services and the environment at Wandsworth Council, said: "Keeping a wild animal like this as a pet is a risky business, but it is possible if certain licence requirements are met. These have been written into law to not only ensure the safety of the public but also the welfare and well being of the animal.
"However it is not suitable to keep a predatory wildcat that should be roaming the wide-open plains of Africa in a cramped residence in Roehampton.
"In this case Mr Brown sought to deceive the authorities about what species the animal was and where it was being kept. It was only as a result of complaints from members of the public that we were able to track it down.
"Happily as a result of the action we were able to take this wildcat is now living and thriving in much more natural and appropriate surroundings."
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