THE BISON is the most popular privately owned wild animal in Wiltshire, figures have revealed.

According to data from animal welfare charity Born Free, 60 of the large cows are kept at private addresses within the Wiltshire Council area.

Born Free’s 2020 survey revealed that 3,951 dangerous wild animals were licensed to be kept privately in Great Britain.

Of those, 109 lived in the Wiltshire Council area of the county, which excluded Swindon.

And 200 boars were recorded in the New Forest District Council area.

When data was collected, camels, leopard cats, lemurs, otters and wolves were just some of the wild animals owned.

A total of 210 private addresses across 129 local authorities had held licences to keep dangerous wild animals.

The graph below gives a break down of wild animals owned privately in Wiltshire, based on the 2020 data:

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