MEERKATS

That this House registers its deep concern at reports that meerkats are being kept as domestic pets; notes that meerkats are highly sociable animals and that it is inappropriate to keep them in isolation or take them out of their natural environment, and that to do so has a severe detrimental impact on the welfare of these animals; calls for greater public awareness as to why meerkats are not suitable as pets; further notes that the majority of meerkats in the UK arrive from illegal sources and are kept in unsuitable conditions; deplores the trade of all exotic animals; and calls on the Government to introduce a ban on the importation of meerkats.