PETITIONOpenPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Add Meerkats to the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976
Add Meerkats (Suricata suricatta) to the Schedule of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976. This will end their unregulated sale in pet shops and require any owner to hold a specialist license and we think, mean only those who can provide for their complex "mob" social needs to purchase them.
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
20
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 20/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 20/100,000
Background
Meerkats are social animals. In our view, in the UK, they are sold with less regulation than dogs, leading to a "fad pet" crisis. For meerkats, isolation from other meerkats can cause self-harm and psychological shutdown. This mirrors primates, which the Govt recently protected due to their social complexity.