Release of pets to the wild

Policy: PAC believes pet animals should never be permanently released to the wild. Most pets are more or less domesticated and ill prepared for life in the wild. Far from being kind it exposes them to predation, starvation, the cold, the wet or disease.

Background: Most pets will die after release (whether deliberate, through a misplaced sense of kindness, or by accidental loss) to the wild -domesticated pets are generally not well equipped for survival.

Those few specimens that survive in the wild may reproduce become invasive and cause problems to natural fauna and flora. Invasive species are considered to be the second biggest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss. However there can be no disagreement that if a species does not find its way into the wild it cannot become invasive however that term is defined.