"Something moved in the garage when I was in there helping the guy lift [the furniture]," she said. "It was a racoon in an incredibly small cage. It was wet. It was filthy. It was skinny, aggressive."
When the man kicked the cage, McKenna asked what was going on. "He said: 'Oh, my stupid wife got it when it was eight weeks old for the kids - it is aggressive, we don't know what to do with it'.
So I said: 'Right. I'll take that with the furniture'." The incident, in late 2009, marked the beginning of Wildside Exotic Rescue - a centre near Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire that houses animals from meerkats to mountain lions, mostly from British homes.
Keeping such animals is not illegal - the Dangerous Wild Animals (DWA) Act 1976 permits private ownership with a licence from the council. But experts, charities and some owners are concerned that the act is failing the animals it is designed to protect.
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin April 27, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin April 27, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Tourism Surfer killings highlight Mexico's violent undercurrents
The killings of the Australian brothers Callum and Jake T Robinson and their American friend Jack Carter Rhoad have highlighted the shifting and uncertain fault lines of risk in Mexico, which is simultaneously a major tourism destination and a country with hotspots of extraordinary violence.
Thousands of people displaced as floods cause chaos in Kenya
Kenya is grappling with floods that have killed 257 people across the east African nation, after weeks of torrential rainfall scientists have linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon.
Deepfake scam targets CEO of world's biggest ad firm
The head of the world's biggest advertising group was the target of an elaborate deepfake scam involving an artificial intelligence voice clone.
Lurid and gripping Daniels' testimony humiliated Trump.Will it turn voters off?
Stormy Daniels may have regarded sex with Donald Trump as brief, unimaginative and regrettable but the adult film star has gripped the US with a salacious and lengthy retelling of the encounter to a New York court this week.
No Ken do Blunt, stunts and Gosling: how did The Fall Guy flop?
On paper, it couldn't fail.
"Today we flee again' Palestinians seek safety from strikes on Rafah
Under a blazing summer sun, tens of thousands of Palestinians fled Israeli bombardment and clashes with Hamas militants in Rafah yesterday, choking roads with carts, bicycles, pickup trucks and wheelchairs.
Tunnels of love Project allows endangered adders to cross road to breed
How did the adder cross the road? It didn't it was too scared.
Style, but no substance? Dismay as Met Gala loses political edge
As pro-Palestinian protests unfolded blocks away, the Met Gala, which took place in New York on Monday evening, unfolded devoid of political statement.
Labour Is Starmer pushing party base too far?
Two days after defecting to Labour, the former Conservative Natalie Elphicke stood in front of a pure red backdrop as she introduced Keir Starmer in her Dover constituency - on the frontline of the battle over stopping small boat crossings.
Elphicke Call for party to become 'less tribal'
Labour should be \"less tribal\" and open to \"reasonably minded people, whichever way they voted in the past\", Keir Starmer said yesterday.
