New home for Blob the bobcat after welfare rescue

A bobcat threatened with euthanasia after its former owner was convicted of animal welfare charges has found a new, permanent home.

Blob the bobcat was the last of 23 big cats to be rehomed after the closure of the Cat Survival Trust in Welwyn, Hertfordshire, in May last year.

Specialist teams at Hertfordshire Zoo and its sister site, the Big Cat Sanctuary in Ashford, Kent, rescued 28 animals after welfare concerns, but five had to be put down because of their poor health.

Cam Whitnall, project lead at both sites, said: "Blob was the last one remaining, and we had to find him a home. Seven months on and we are able to welcome him to The Big Cat Sanctuary."

He added: "The conditions that he was living in was just not adequate for a bobcat - it was really sad.

"We are really pleased to have him here, he is in great hands."

Terrence Moore, 78, director of the Cat Survival Trust, was convicted of four charges of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal at St Albans Crown Court in May 2024.

The four animals were a male European wildcat called Hamish that had come from a zoo in Paris, a female Bengal cat named Jasmine, a jungle cat called Lily and a Caracal cat.

He was also banned from keeping animals for five years and found guilty of seven charges of using an animal species for commercial gain without a licence.

Three other cats had been rehomed at the Kent sanctuary, including Frank, the UK's only Asian Golden Cat - Boson, a Fishing Cat - and Rhys, a Eurasian Lynx.

Visitors will be able to meet Blob for the first time during the sanctuary's annual open days from 24 to 27 July and 31 July to 3 August.

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