Two trafficked caracal wild cats rescued in northern Spain 

TWO trafficked caracal wild cats have been rescued in northern Spain and have been given a new home 

The two caracals, a protected species under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), were being kept in a house in the municipality of Santiurde de Toranzo (Cantabria). 

The wild cats had been illegally sold to a local resident, who bought the specimens in a breeding centre in Toledo, near Madrid. 

“We were told that two caracals were being taken for walks around the town. Agents went to the property and rescued them,” a Cantabria Guardia Civil spokesman told the Olive Press. 

Officers found the felines in a cage in the garden of the house. 

The Guardia Civil has confirmed to the Olive Press that both wild cats have been taken to Primadomus conservation centre in Alicante. 

Read more:

• First sighting of an Iberian lynx in Spain’s Madrid in more than 30 years
• IN PICS: African Lynx surprises police trying to arrest robber in Spain’s Valencia
• Iberian Lynx population continues to rise in rural Spain and Portugal