POLL | Do you think SA should have stricter wild animal private ownership regulations?

For four days a female tiger roamed the farms of Walkerville, south of Johannesburg, after escaping from a private residence.

TimesLIVE reported that Sheba had been found on Arboretum Farm after attacking and killing a dog. She was euthanised on Wednesday.

The tiger had also attacked William Mokoena, 39, who is recovering in hospital.

Sheba's escape has again shone the spotlight on regulations regarding the private ownership of wild animals.

According to the Endangered Wildlife Trust, permits are required to keep exotic animals, including tigers, as pets in certain provinces. Gauteng, the North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo are not among them.

Sunday Times reported that Gauteng residents should expect more tigers roaming the streets as ownership of the cats in the province has increased due to lack of strict legislation.

“Unfortunately there are no permits required to keep such a dangerous exotic animal in a residential area in Gauteng. This is an issue that the NSPCA and the SPCAs vehemently oppose, for obvious reasons,” said National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spokesperson Keshvi Nair.

There have been cases of wild animals escaping from private residences or nature reserves. In 2021, Pretoria residents lived in fear after employees of government nature reserve, Rietvlei Nature Reserve in Tshwane, said a cheetah was missing and might have escaped. The cheetah, Njozi, was spotted in the reserve after four days.

In August 2016, a tiger from Pretoria wildlife estate, The Farm Inn, escaped and was found roaming the streets of the eastern suburbs.

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