Big cat investigators can gather much information on British big cats in Britain through the Freedom of Information Act, (FOIA, pronounced “foyer”,) which obliges public bodies and government agencies including local authorities to disclose information requested by citizens. Making FOIA requests is certainly easier than getting down on your hands and knees looking for big cat field signs in the wilderness and trying to scoop possible big cat poo into a bag for DNA analysis!
Image © Matt Salusbury; text, design, typography and layout Crown Copyright
Some of the bodies that hold useful data on big cats include police forces – their police logs document calls from the public reporting big cat sightings to them – local authorities – they enforce Dangerous Wild Animals Act licences needed by people who keep big cats in captivity – and nature management agencies such as the Forestry Commission, English Nature and the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Authority.
I have been making FOIA requests about big cats in Suffolk (and East Anglia) for the past six years. Relevant disclosures under FOIA will be published here. (In some cases, even though the information is “free”, it remains Crown copyright of the body that has it, which takes time to clear.)
Linked below are FOIA disclosures relevant to big cat investigations in Suffolk, and on East Anglia generally. I have also included some relevant FOIA disclosures from around the UK. If you are interested in collaborating with me on making more FOIA requests in this area, or on possible training sessions on FOIA requests for big cat investigators, please get in touch.
* Male bobcat escaped in West Suffolk. A male bobcat escaped from captivity in West Suffolk in March 2020. This bobcat was then shot and injured, then rescued by the RSPCA and rehomed. The FOIA disclosure linked below is In response to a FOIA request made by Matt Salusbury, 28 July 2021 to West Suffolk Council’s Licensing Department on a Dangerous Wild Animal escape and follow-up.
It reveals that someone in West Suffolk was at the time keeping half a dozen big cats which were all transferred to the ownership of another individual or organisation at around that time:
West Suffolk bobcat escaped while being transferred to a zoo, FOIA disclosure reveals.
* Map of big cat sightings in Norfolk 2010-2016. Article by Jess Clara of East Anglian Daily Times, 18 October 2016, based on a FOIA disclosure form Norfolk Police on their logs of big cat sightings: “Map shows every big cat sighting in Norfolk over the past six years” (2010-2016)
* Suffolk Constabulary FOIA disclosure on reports of sightings of big cats in the county to them in calls (phone calls?) by members of the public, 2010-2013. It describes four “incidents”. Copyright Suffolk Police, placed in the public domain. Pdf document here.
* Suffolk Constabulary FOIA disclosure on reports of sightings of big cats in the county to them in calls (phone calls?) by members of the public, 2011-2014. It also describes four “incidents.” There’s a lot of overlap with the 2010-2013 disclosure, see above. Copyright Suffolk Police, placed in the public domain. Pdf document here.
* Suffolk Constabulary FOIA disclosure in response to the question, “How many sightings of big cats have been reported to Suffolk Constabulary since 2004?”, with numbers of sightings reported for each year, up to September 2010. This is contradicted by statements made by Suffolk Police to the press in that period, which suggest a much higher number of sightings per year. Copyright Suffolk Police, placed in the public domain. Pdf document here.
Strictly speaking, these are numbers for reports coming into Suffolk Police by members of the public. It does not necessarily include internal reports made by police officers, or forwarded from other police forces – the better resourced Norfolk Police and Cambridgeshire Police in particular. Both forces regularly carry out patrols that taken them into Suffolk, while Norfolk Police share a helicopter with Suffolk Police.
* Norfolk Police FOIA disclosure logs of calls from the public reporting big cat sightings from 2006-2009, dated 2011. It includes one sighting within Suffolk and several very close to the Suffolk border (Thetford, for example, which was once part of Suffolk). Copyright Norfolk Police, placed in the public domain It also includes numbers of reports of ghosts, vampires, alien abductions and UFOs within Norfolk in that period. Pdf document here.