Some British Big Cat Researchers do come out with a load of nonsense

In the last few days, we've had Neil Arnold, acclaimed by the CFZ as the "world's greatest big cat researcher", pour scorn on the work of other researchers.

NEIL ARNOLD: Cats That Can’t Be Caught…Cats That Could Be Bought

It doesn't take a genius to work out who he was insulting. Di Francis, Merrily Harpur, Rik Snook, the BCIB etc.

Now we know he has a book to plug, yet again, but he does come out with some facts that he never ever seems to be able to back up.

These are his claims in his own words, and I would like to challenge him right now to supply proof of any of them. Or is he yet another CFZ researcher, who is more interested in filling his pockets than real research.

1. Regarding animals sold in Harrods, London. I have records that lion and puma were purchased there, but no black leopards

So where are these records, are there copies of receipts.

2. It is a FACT that large exotic cats DO roam the UK. I’ve seen them; I’ve filmed them.

So he has filmed them, it's very strange then that none of these films have ever come to light. Or is he making false claims. Perhaps he should put them on the CFZ TV site for people to view and discuss.

3.It seems that for every animal purchased pre-1976 (when the Dangerous Wild Animals Act was introduced), many went unrecorded, but thankfully, due to some newspaper archives and my own digging and delving, it proves that a majority of animals seen in the wilds today ARE offspring of animals released back then

and what proof has Mr Arnold got, other than anecdotes and rumours. Again I challenge him to furnish proof of his claims.

Finally we should have a look at a quote by Mr Arnold in the Kent Messenger Newspaper on April 14th 2010.

Hundreds of puma and leopards were released in the 1960s and 1970s and what we are seeing is their offspring

So there we have it, but if there were "hundreds" of big cats deliberately released 40 or 50 years ago, there should be tens of thousands of big cats in the UK today, (which there is obviously not).

Again I would challenge him to provide the proof of these claims.


So Mr Arnold, if you are prepared to discredit other researchers work, you can't complain when someone looks closely at your own efforts.

So will I be made to look a fool as Mr Arnold provides all the proof to back up his theories........or as I suspect is he yet another CFZ member, full of hot air and outlandish claims, but not a shred of hard evidence.

People like him do a discredit to the real researchers out there.


If he decides to get in contact, I'll let you all know. Don't hold your breath.