A man called 999 after spotting a ‘mini cheetah’ attacking a fox in the Wiltshire countryside – but police didn’t respond to the incident.
The animal, thought to be a savannah cat, was seen on the B4040 between Cricklade and Minety on Tuesday night (9 December).
A man was driving along the road when he came across a big cat attacking a fox. Lit by his vehicle’s headlights, he got a good look at the animal.
‘It’s something I never thought I would see in the English countryside’, he told Wiltshire 999s. ‘It looked like someone’s tropical or private collection cat that’s got out.’
Concerned about the safety of people and livestock in the area, he called 999 to report it.
However he claims that the police didn’t take his call seriously, and didn’t dispatch officers. He was told that it was a matter for other authorities.
‘I was told that it was an RSPCA and council matter and it didn’t concern the police… and it wasn’t down to them to deal with it’, he added.
The man wants to warn farmers locally, with the cat posing a risk to livestock.
According to a local resident, a savannah cat escaped during a house move in the Cricklade area in recent years. It’s not clear if it remains at large.
In 2020, a savannah cat was seen in a garden in Hampstead, London – with armed police deployed to carry out searches for the potentially dangerous animal.
The breed is often described as a miniature cheetah not only due to their appearance, but their behaviours too.
In the UK, it’s illegal to own a first generation savannah cat unless a dangerous wild animal licence is obtained for it. Later generations are legally to own but require special care.
Wiltshire Police confirmed that their received a report of a “large cat being sighted on the B4040”, which was “logged pending any further information”.
