# Cape hunting dogs, legal in the UK?



## 955i (Aug 17, 2007)

As above, are these legal to own?

Guessing that if raised domestically from a pup they would be little different to any other canine.


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/dwa-species/361382-african-hunting-dog.html


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## 955i (Aug 17, 2007)

Ta :2thumb:


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

There's a keeper on here (or that used to be on here) that has some....I think they've bred them too.

Damn near impossible to get hold of though I'd have thought.


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## GavinMc (Jan 9, 2013)

I would think I'm talking about the same people as mrcriss when I say the last time I heard they had a pregnant female. They currently have/have had some spectacular species in their care. So perfectly legal to own but the chances of owning one are almost nonexistent.



Gavin.


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## aardvark28 (Oct 10, 2013)

That's right. To be honest I'm always surprised that people ask about a species being legal to own since with only a handful of species (basically Vampire Bat, Coypu, Grey Squirrel and Musk Rat) any species be it a Giraffe, Orang Utan, Komodo Dragon or anything else) are perfectly legal to keep - without exception - provided the specimens are legally acquired, have the correct CITES support documentation if listed on CITES and the keeper has a DWAA licence (or zoo/pet shop exemption) if the species is listed on the DWAA. Further, obviously, the animals must be kept appropriately in order not to fall foul of the Animal Welfare Act.


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## naja-naja (Aug 26, 2009)

aardvark28 said:


> That's right. To be honest I'm always surprised that people ask about a species being legal to own since with only a handful of species (basically Vampire Bat, Coypu, Grey Squirrel and Musk Rat) any species be it a Giraffe, Orang Utan, Komodo Dragon or anything else) are perfectly legal to keep - without exception - provided the specimens are legally acquired, have the correct CITES support documentation if listed on CITES and the keeper has a DWAA licence (or zoo/pet shop exemption) if the species is listed on the DWAA. Further, obviously, the animals must be kept appropriately in order not to fall foul of the Animal Welfare Act.


a lot of species are technically legal to own but in practice are impossible to acquire legally.


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## aardvark28 (Oct 10, 2013)

Wouldn't argue with that statement, although the original question was whether they can be kept legally (answer, yes). I would suggest that the vast bulk of species are available and available legally - the question more usually being how serious are the would-be purchasers and how much money, time and effort are they willing to put in to secure legal stock. Hence, friends and colleagues over the years have - for example - acquired legal Clouded Leopards by importing captive-bred from the U.S. but some people would say impossible to get hold of. Here in the UK a lot of mammal keepers take less interest in breeding and in keeping their animals in much the same way as a zoo would whilst on the Continent the majority do precisely that (which means they also more typically get access to stock from zoological collections). A case of the more you put in the more you get out.


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