Keeping exotic animals as pets is a global issue, and British Columbia’s latest attempt to address it shows how messy a fix can be. As of May 2026, it’s illegal to buy or sell exotic cats, such as servals, in the province; current owners can keep theirs, as long as they apply for a permit and give up the right to let visitors interact with the animals. The bigger problem, as Michelle Cyca reports, is what happens when owners want out: No one—not zoos, not the BC SPCA, not even Canada—is able to take a surrendered exotic cat. Cyca, who owns a savannah cat herself, asks a hard question: Just because we want to keep a wild animal, should we?
The only thing more challenging than keeping a serval might be giving one up. Zoos won’t take exotic cats from the province’s unregulated pet trade, Dubois says, because there’s no way to determine the animal’s lineage, which means they can’t be used for breeding. The BC SPCA won’t take them either because “they’re not safe to have in our facilities,” Dubois says. Last year, during the forest fires on Vancouver Island, one owner reached out to ask if the BC SPCA could shelter his two servals. “We said, sorry, but no. Our enclosures are not set up, our staff are not trained. This is something you have to think about as an owner.”
