The Civil Guard rescues an African feline kept as a pet by a family in Alicante

A call to the Civil Guard has unveiled yet another series of cases that NGOs have been denouncing for years: the impulsive purchase of wild animals turned into domestic pets. The Nature Protection Service (Seprona) rescued Tila, a five-year-old female serval, from a home in Alicante after her family admitted they could no longer care for her "safely and responsibly." The animal has been relocated to the AAP Primadomus centre in Villena, a European leader in the rehabilitation of exotic species.

This is not an isolated case. Servals - a feline native to Sub-Saharan Africa, listed in Appendix II of the CITES convention - have become one of the top five animals with the highest number of rescue requests in both Spain and Europe. Each intervention, experts stress, serves as a reminder of an emerging phenomenon that is beginning to take on a worrying dimension.

The serval is an agile, solitary hunter, capable of leaping three metres to catch birds in mid-flight. A predator adapted to African savannas, not a living room with children's toys or an inner courtyard. "Being born in captivity does not make it a domestic animal," warns the Coalition for the Positive List. "It retains its instincts, its territorial needs. The frustration from captivity leads to discordant behaviours, more aggressive than usual: scratches, bites, destruction, attacks on other animals or even people," they add.

The scene repeats with alarming frequency. Driven by their "wild" appearance and the aesthetic rhetoric of social media - where they are portrayed as docile and exotic pets - many owners overlook the real cost, the necessary space, and the difficulty of handling a feline that can weigh up to 18 kilos.

Tila's family admits without hesitation: "You only see the beautiful moments. But as it grows, keeping it at home becomes very complicated, especially if you have children or receive visitors and the animal gets agitated. If we had known earlier, we wouldn't have acquired her."

Law 7/2023 already prohibits the keeping of wild mammals as pets if they exceed 5 kilos in adult weight - the serval triples that figure - pending the implementation of the Positive Lists expected next year. These lists will determine which species can legally live in homes and which are excluded for reasons of safety, animal welfare, or environmental impact.

For the organisations promoting this regulatory framework, Tila's rescue is an instructive example of what happens when a citizen recognises their limits and decides to seek help before the animal's stress leads to a tragedy. The Coalition for the Positive List - comprising ANDA, FAADA, and AAP Primadomus - insists that anyone in a similar situation should report it as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, in Villena, the feline is now beginning a new chapter, far from a domestic environment that could never truly be its own. A belated decision, but one that spares it from remaining trapped in a setting far removed from its nature.