A fifth-generation Bengal cat, a cross between a domestic cat and an Asian leopard cat, is now an authorised pet in the Brussels region.
This was announced in a press release issued by the regional Animal well-being minister Bernard Clerfayt. It’s the first type of hybrid cat to become an authorised pet in Brussels.
The announcement was made after Brussels Animal Well-being Commission recommended authorising the breed (fifth generation onwards) as a pet in its latest report. “This species of cat is now considered domesticated and has been seen to display behaviour adapted to life in captivity,” the minister’s cabinet said.
Like all other cat breeds, Bengals have to be registered and sterilised. Brussels still has a ban on keeping all other hybrid cat breeds apart from fifth-generation Bengals as a pet, including fourth-generation Bengals. “A transition period has been put in place so that all hybrid cats currently in captivity can remain so until the end of their life.”
The Brussels Times
