"Big Cat Attack" in Carmarthenshire and My Being A "Big Cat Sceptic"

 I woke up this morning to find out that I am a "big cat debunker" and that this is over the Carmarthenshire pony deaths.

Posts from Face Book have been splashed around the internet so I feel no obligation not to show them here as they are public now.

This is the post that started the whol;e thing off:

Laura Jones is with Andrew Bussell DipWcf.

8 tdSiepgtSSeSamptombifSonseesrcror htate d2h1r:19ng  · 

**Mynyddygarreg / Four Roads area **

Absolutely devastated to be writing this.

Two nights ago our beautiful Shetlands were attacked during the night. Two have survived but sadly the other 5 were found dead.

Two of the five were found head first deep in the hedge. One with lacerations to her back legs. Another mare has had her mane & tail ripped out and left scattered around her. The fourth had her stomach ripped open & the fifth has a small laceration on her stifle & bleeding from her mouth.

I’m heartbroken beyond words and can’t believe what’s happened.

I’ve asked a number of people to come and help me figure out what has happened (including my vet) and it appears a dog or some sort of animal has done this. If anyone else has experienced this in the area recently please let me know and maybe we can help each other figure out what it is that’s doing this.

Police & RSPCA have been informed.

This isn’t a post I thought I would ever need to share and don’t ever want to wake up to the scenes I found yesterday morning again.

Please let me know if you have any info.

The photos included -easily found online- were these.

GRAPHIC IMAGES

I sent the following message:

"Hello. My name is Terry Hooper-Scharf and I am a naturalist specialising in canid and felids (exotics) and from 1977 to 2013 (and still occasionally) I am a wildlife consultant to UK police forces on incidents allegedly relating to "big cats". I also worked with Swansea University when its Exotic Cat Group was active. I was forwarded a post about some of your Shetland ponies being killed. I wondered whether you could tell me what the vet involved thought re the cause of death and whether there were any other photographs of the dead ponies showing wounds"

I did point out in a comment that I was a little dubious about a "big cat" being responsible. The reason for this is simple; the hair from the main and tail pulled seemed to be more consistent with a canid attack. The cuts on the pony's leg were at odd angles that were not consistent with a large cats claws and the stomache ripped open has been noted in past known dog attacks. A large cat -leopard or puma would go forthe more isolated pony and the evidence for this having happened in the past in the UK is overwhelming and we have all of that evidence recorded and later added to by professionals at universities not associated with myself or the EAR.

I asked again whether any of the animal had been consumed and what the vet thought -it seems initially he had suggested an animal like a dog which is more consistent. Unfortunately everyone suddenly started chipping in about seeing or knowing "big cats" were around and a "big cat" group got involved. From that point things went downhill.

It is a simple and straightforward question to assess facts; what did the vet think -could I be put in touch with him? Howver, despite asking four times I have received no direct reply.

All above board, sensible and clear but I did not mention the dog idea outright as I needed the evidence or the opinion of the vet involved.

Today I was to find out the "response of the owners to his claims" -I had made no claims and as the owners refused to respond I could only conclude, to myself at the time, that this was a dog attack but not rule out a person also being involved. Here is that 'response':

I point out again that this was not sent to me by the owner and may have been in response to others who suggested dubious lampers and their dogs...

The dog and lampers seem a good theory but I need to keep pointing out the owners appear to have gone with the "Big Cat" group and theory rather than converse with myself so that facts can be double checked and the persistent refusal to discuss what the vet thought other than dog or other animal does not help.

I was a sceptic on large cats in the wild when I started but after four decades of seeing the evidence from dentition marks in bones, DNA, scat, many kills etc., I was very outspoken on the reality of large and small introduced cats in the UK -which police forces and even zoologists agreed with. It is why DEFRA became very opposed to my involvement in looking at any livestock deaths. And there is only one member of the big cat family in the UK so use of the term "Big cats" in all cases shows the competency of "Big Cat Groups".

To call me a "Big Cat sceptic" is like saying Dr Christian Barnard was against heart surgery.

Since my reputation is being impuned I take this opportunity to respond

Based on what I have read and seen this is not recorded as a cat attack.

British "Big Cats" - My Background of 40+ Years

A little background seems to be necessary.

I started looking at reports of "big cats" in the UK in 1977. In was a young naturalist and I thought I would earn some good points reputation-wise when I prove it all a hoax. By 1978 I had spoken to naturalists, zoologists and many otherpeople who were credible and 95% of all sightings were at a distance of 10 feet (3m) to 200 yards under good lighting conditions. 

I saw the tracks and I realised that the obbservers were not all loopy or seeing things. In the decades since the evidence has grown and that includes DNA, scat analysis and much more. In 1977/1978 at the suggestion of a zoologist I took on the role of acting as an exotic animals advisor to UK police forces from Scotland to Northern Ireland, England and Wales.

I have contributed to technical papers:

1. A Method For Grading Sightings Of Non-Native Cats: Application to South and West Wales, UK: Professor Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea and Terry Hooper-Scharf Exotic Animals Register.

Proceedings of the 2^nd Eastern Cougar Conference, Morgantown, West Virginia, 2004  

 

2. Exotic Cats In Britain: An Historical Perspective, Professor Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea and Terry Hooper-Scharf Exotic Animals Register, Proceedings of the 2^nd Eastern Cougar Conference, Morgantown, West Virginia, 2004  

 

3. (Contributor) Survey effort and Sighting Probabilities for Non-Native Cats in Carmarthenshire, Professor Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea, Swansea Geographer 2004  vol. 39

 

4. The Biography of Perceived Encounters with Pumas and Other Exotic Cats in South and West Wales, UK; Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea and Terry Hooper-Scharf Exotic Animals Register. 2004

 

5. Felids: Wildcats, Ferals and Hybrids, Terry Hooper-Scharf. Vale Wildlife Group, 2000

 

6. UK National Wolverine Population and Evidence, Terry Hooper-Scharf, Vale Wildlife Group, November 2000

 

7. The Red Paper: Foxes, Fox-Domestic Dog, Hybrids, Arctic Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Coyotes: An Extensive Study of Vulpes vulpes in the United Kingdom and Releases/Escapes of Non-Native Canids; Terry Hooper-Scharf.  Black Tower Books, 2011

 

8. The “Girt Dog” of Ennerdale: Hyena, Thylacine or Escaped Exotic Cat: A Naturalist’s Assessment of the Evidence. Terry Hooper-Scharf. Black Tower Books, 2018

 

Various other unlisted papers and articles 2000-2021.  I have cooperate with the National Farmers Union, Newquay Zoo, Swansea and other universities. farming colleges, veterinary schools as well as many others.

This work -including that to advise police forces- was all for free. Never one penny was paid out by anyone but myself. I attempted to avoid publicity as much as possible but even so guested on national, regional and local radio as well as in the newspapers (which called me in 1996: "Britain's Big Cat Detective" despite my protests).I have also contributed to publications on European wildcats and advised German police in "big cat" sightings as well as on wolves.

In over 4 decades I have studied kills put down to big cats as well as habits and habitats across the UK. Most of my contemporaries are now gone which makes me the most experienced naturalists dealing with the subject in the UK. A few newer people have appeared and most of them base their knowledge on the old EAR Bulletins and often misquote or deliberately get facts wrong.

Two things to note:

1) in over 40 years not one witness/observer has ever been named unless they have given out their name. Confidentiality of witnesses and maintaining that  is of great importance.

2) unlike some newer "Big Cat" people who really do not know the cats involved and hide their connections with hunting groups or persons out to kill the first "British Big Cat", I maintain absolute secrecy on locations and cat movements. This is to protect the witness, the animal involved as well as other animals as "hunters" have in the past shot sheep and other farm/domestic animals as "big cat"

The UK National CarnivoreAdvisory was set up to cover everything from foxes, badgers as well as introduced animals -canid or felid or even mustelid. It is the focal point for coordinating the British Fox Study (set up in 1976) and the EAR -for both there are public Face Book pages.

I can be personal message via the Face Book groupsor through email at blacktowercg@hotmail.com  in the strictest confidentiality.

The above is a very -VERY- brief piece of background information to reassure anyone who might have concerns that they need not worry.

Carmarthenshire "Big Cat Kills"

 Thank you for the messages.

I am aware of a case in Carmarthenshire where ponies have been killed and there is a lot of talk of "Big Cat kills".  I have read what was reported and seen some of the photographs and am still waiting for a response from the person who reported the incident.

At the moment I am suspicious about certain aspects but "big cat" (leopard or medium sized puma) is not top of my list of possible killers.

When I know more I shall report first on the EAR -Exotic Animals Register Face Book group.

A Public EAR Group

 Yes, I have taken the step of setting up a Face Book EAR group so that people can message me privately if necessary.

There are currently links to blog articles but, hopefully, some new material soon.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/372804871017547

No. No Big Cat Sightings In Germany. Probably!

 I have noted before how in the 1970s I and three family members saw a fully grown black leopard dead at the side of the motorway between Belgium and the Netherlands.

Germany has also, like France and Italy, had a good few panther and puma reports. Reminded of this while browsing through a file for 2004 in which a fella in Germany connected with the police there told me he doubted there were any free living largecats there....but no one had investigated or catalogued these reports. So, No....not sure!

I say this as a German police force contacted me privately over...a "big cat" sighting having had someone in a UK police force recommend me!

Second 10ft python found in Cambridgeshire country lane

 Sam Russell

Wed, 1 September 2021

A second 10ft python has been found in a country lane, with the RSPCA urging people to stay vigilant in case there are more.

The first snake was spotted in Conington in Cambridgeshire on Friday, with the second found yards away on Monday.

RSPCA Inspector Justin Stubbs had likened the first incident, where the “huge snake” was rescued from up a tree, to Disney film The Jungle Book.

The second snake was seen “crossing a quiet country lane”, the animal welfare charity said.

Mr Stubbs said: “Having rescued last Friday’s python, I couldn’t believe it when the call came through to say there had been another found in almost exactly the same spot.

“I’m afraid that’s no coincidence – it’s looking likely these poor animals were abandoned, or have escaped from the same place.

“This second snake was extremely cold when he was found, very much thinner than the first python, which is suffering from a minor health condition.

“Both snakes are now being looked after at a specialist facility and are under heat lamps to maintain a healthy body temperature.

“It is really concerning to think that someone has kept these pythons, then might have decided to abandon them in this cruel and callous way.

The RSPCA rescued a second 10ft python from a country lane in Conington, Cambridgeshire (RSPCA/PA)

“I only hope that there are no more on the loose out there.

“As well as the dangers of low temperatures, harvesting in the nearby fields could pose a real hazard to any snakes left out there.”

He is urging people in the area to stay vigilant “in case there are more vulnerable snakes found in the same spot”.

The RSPCA said the snakes are “unlikely to pose any danger to people” but recommended that anyone who sees an exotic snake should keep a safe distance.

The charity is asking anyone with information about the incident to call its appeal line on 0300 123 8018.