A BIG cat and a not-so-big crocodilian are among the 15 'dangerous wild animals' licensed to live on private premises in Cheshire.
Charity Born Free said there is a total of more than 2,250 'dangerous wild animals' licensed to live on private premises nationwide.
A number of them are in conservation settings or in educational settings however others of them are pets in people's own homes.
The Dangerous Wild Animals Act allows this under certain conditions but the charity said this is not enough to assure their safety.
Born Free's patron, Dame Joanna Lumley, and policy manager, Chris Lewis, said there should be a change in the 50-year-old act.
Mr Lewis said: "The government must urgently review and reform the laws governing the trade in wild animals as pets."
In the Cheshire East local authority area, there are licences for two cheetahs and two Cuvier's Dwarf Caimans.
In the Cheshire West local authority area, there are also licences for two lechwes and nine Eurasian Wild Boars.
The big cats and the boars may be self-explanatory but the caimans are alligator-like crocodilians from central South America and the lechwes are antelopes from south-central Africa.
By way of comparison there no licences for any animals in the local authority areas of Halton and of Warrington.
Born Free's list does not include illegal, unlicensed animals of which it is a possibility there are many, many more.
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: "Anyone wishing to keep an animal covered by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act must be carefully vetted."
These are the 'dangerous wild animals' licensed to live on private premises in Cheshire.
Cheshire East
Cheetah - 2 - Conservation Level: Vulnerable
Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman - 2 - Conservation Level: Least Concern
Cheshire West
Lechwe - 2 - Conservation Level: Near Threatened
Eurasian Wild Boar - 9 - Conservation Level: Least Concern
Halton
There are no licences for any animals in this local authority area.
Warrington
There are no licences for any animals in this local authority area.
For information on 'dangerous wild animals' go to www.bornfree.org.uk/dwamap/.
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