Scottish SPCA leads calls for a list of animals that can exist safely as family pets – and their manifesto wants to educate the public of creatures that are simply unsuited to kife alongside humans.
13:46, 05 May 2026Updated 14:02, 05 May 2026
Animal detectives grapple with five foot alligator July 2008 nicknamed Alice is captured after being found in a house in Galashiels
Scottish animal protectors are demanding a crackdown on the abuse of exotic animals – after a torrent of appalling cases.
The Scottish SPCA has had its fill of emergency calls relating to crocodiles, alligators, marmosets, monkeys , wolves, lizards and all manner of creatures that could never be regarded as suitable for domestic life with humans.
Animals who simply should never be taken as pets have ended up in the hands of irresponsible oddballs, whose treatment of them has led to death and injury.
And the SSPCA has been the first line of response on many occasions, rescuing animals they got to in the nick of time.
As part of their animal manifesto, the society wants the introduction of a ‘Permitted List’ of animals that can legally be kept as pets in Scotland.
The SSPCA says: “Many wild and exotic animals are currently kept in environments that fail to meet their complex physical and behavioural needs, leading to widespread suffering through poor housing, inadequate diets, lack of social interaction, and limited opportunity to express natural behaviours.
“Access to these animals is too easy, with inconsistent care advice and a shortage of specialist veterinary support, often resulting in abandonment, repeated rehoming, and additional pressure on rescue centres. Some species can also pose risks to public health and safety.
“A Permitted List would ensure that only animals whose full needs can be met in a home environment are kept as pets, helping to prevent suffering, educate owners, reduce strain on rescues, improve public safety, and create a clear, enforceable system.”
Graham Alexander McQuet, of Grangemouth, appeared before Falkirk Sheriff Court over his treatment of wolves
The society is also campaigning for a National Animal Offenders Register
They are seeking the creation of a system connected to already existing intelligence databases that would allow enforcement agencies to track repeat offenders, monitor bans, and identify links between animal abuse and other crimes earlier.
The SSPCA also seeks to embed animal welfare into Scotland’s education curriculum as part of the national education reform programme.
The Daily Record has recorded many of the tales of woe over the years.
And we list just a few of the cases that have cropped up in our pages in recent times:
Wolves
How the Record told of McQuet’s wolf pack
In March this year, the Record told how Graham McQuet, 40, was convicted of keeping a pack of wolves in appalling conditions at his shabby home in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire.
One died of blood loss after trapping its leg in a cage and severing it. McQuet put its body in a freezer and the leg in a wheelie bin.
McQuet escaped with a five-year ban from keeping animals and a £2000 fine, despite Falkirk Sheriff Court hearing he had allowed a pack of wolves run free in the garden of a semi-detached home.
Falkirk Sheriff Court heard how McQuet had attracted complaints from neighbours over constant howling coming from his garden.
The wolves were “hybrids” with domestic dogs, shipped in from breeders in Russia and Eastern Europe – with up to 98 per cent wolf DNA.
Alligators
Animal detectives grapple with five foot alligator July 2008 nicknamed Alice is captured after being found in a house in Galashiels
The SSPCA’s former superintendent Mike Flynn once had to rescue a 4ft alligator that had been living in a bath.
Mike, who retired in 2023, had to deal with a boom in the illegal trade in exotic animals, in the 1990s, as the internet entered mainstream lives.
Mike dealt with iguanas monkeys and parrots and once had to confiscate a lemur from a caravan.
In 2004 his team stepped in after a 4ft alligator was put up for sale in Edinburgh.
SSPCA officers arranged to meet the seller him in a car park – and he duly produced the unmuzzled reptile from the back of a Vauxhall Cavalier.
Mike said: “He was keeping it in a bath on the fifth floor of a tenement in Leith.”
The gator was then taken to a safer home – in Torremolinos, Spain.
Another gator – Alice – was rescued by Mike from a home in Galashiels in 2008.
Birds of Prey
Brandon Hodge wasn’t able to offer adequate care
In November last year, Brandon was banned from keeping animals after keeping birds of prey tethered in tiny squalid cages.
Hodge, 29, had 18 birds including owls in his filthy cottage in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire.
He crammed the animals into cages so small they could not fly or even move their wings. The room was strewn with rubbish and infested with maggots and insects.
Animal welfare officers found most of the carrier cages were stacked on top of one another.
Hodge was sentenced at Greenock Sheriff Court. He was banned from keeping animals for five years and was handed a 12-month supervision order, and ordered to carry out 90 hours of unpaid work.
Marmoset
Steve, a young marmoset monkey, was living in East Lothian, but was rescued by the SSPCA who helped care for him, before he was moved to a permanent home in a monkey sanctuary in England
A monkey called Steve appalled investigators who found it living in a bird cage and being fed marshmallows.
Animal charities OneKind, the Scottish SPCA and Born Free last May voiced their concerns at such cases – agreeing that list must be drawn of creatures that can be legally kept as pets.
Their Don’t Pet Me campaign last year highlighted the misery of Steve, who was underweight and addicted to sugary marshmallows after being fed them constantly as a treat. The little monkey was also stressed from frequent handling.
After six weeks in the care of the Scottish SPCA, Steve made a full recovery and was moved to a permanent home in a monkey sanctuary in England.
Snakes
Keith Ross, from Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, shared his one-bedroom flat with nearly 40 lizards, snakes and spiders
In 2017, heavy metal fan Keith Ross, then 26, was found with a “mini zoo” of snakes, scorpions, turtles and lizards in his one-bedroom flat.
He was convicted of animal neglect of poisonous snakes including a king cobra and a boomslang, whose bite can leave victims bleeding from every orifice.
The forklift driver, from Motherwell, collected the creatures for six years.
He appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted 18 offences including neglect and keeping dangerous animals without a licence.
SPCA officers discovered an alligator snapping turtle, two musk turtles and a common snapping turtle without access to clean water, heat or light.
Bearded Dragons
Bearded dragon(Image: UGC)
In April last year, Kirsty Montgomery was convicted for putting her animals – including a bearded dragon – at significant risk of danger. She was banned from keeping animals for five years and sentenced to a community payback order after she admitted breaches of animal welfare legislation at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
She left her bearded dragon – named Toothless – for dead after keeping him in an environment that failed to meet the basic elements required for this species to survive.
Toothless was alive but in very poor condition, cold to the touch and seemed lethargic.
An SSPCA Inspector said: “In the vivarium, there were some dead flies, an empty water bowl, and no food, UVB lighting or dedicated heat source. These are basic requirements for this type of animal, and it is imperative for its welfare.”
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