Are Maine Coons legal in the UK?

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You might as well ask whether Maine Coons are legal in any country in the world because you will get the same answer which is that they are indeed legal in all countries of the world because they are a domestic cat at heart just like any other. They might be a beautiful, big, purebred, pedigree cat with a striking appearance and a high price tag but in terms of legality they are just like the lowliest moggy.

I don't know of any country where there is a ban on domestic cats. Actually, while writing this, I think I can think of a country where you won't see a Maine Coon cat and very few random bred cats. The country is North Korea.

Kim Jong-un decreed that all domestic cats should be eradicated throughout the entire country during Covid because he thought that the cat spread the disease to people. The man is completely mad and cruel as well but we don't know how many cats were killed but it would be a lot.

But the Maine Coon cat, as far as I know, isn't banned by statute (federal law) from North Korea. Not now after the end of Covid. To refer again to North Korea, I suspect that things got back more or less to normal.

The Maine Coon was first imported into the UK in the 1980s and gained full recognition by the premier UK cat fancy association, the GCCF in 1993.

The only cats which can be illegal in certain jurisdictions across the planet would be wildcat hybrid exotic pets such as the Savannah or Chausie and tame or domesticated medium-sized wild cats themselves such as the caracal.

RELATED: Why are Bengal cats illegal in New York City (NYC)?

It is the wildcat hybrids which are problematic in some places. That's because high filial versions (F1-F2) retain a lot of their wild cat ancestor traits which make them a problem, the authorities believe, in terms of conservation and possibly in terms of a danger to people.

RELATED: Why is the Savannah cat illegal?

For example, Australia has totally banned the Savannah cat which is a well-known wildcat hybrid. They believed that if they allowed the cat to be bred in the country, some may escape and make their way to the interior of the continent where they would evolve into huge feral cats killing native species. The Australian authorities are doing all they can to protect small native species although they're making a complete mess of it but that's something else.

Many states in the US ban the ownership of wild cats as pets and some ban wildcat hybrids as I recall. But the Maine Coon? No. They are fully accepted everywhere.

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