Overview

‘Panthera Britannia’ is a feature-length documentary exploring the unusual phenomenon of the United Kingdom’s population of mysterious large cats, which are alleged to be prowling the wilderness and countryside of rural Britain. Britain has a long, colourful and complicated history of having a diverse exotic pet trade; from the days of the old British Empire, until the mid-20th century, it was deemed an indicator and symbol of status, wealth and fashion to own exotic pets, (especially big cats). Incidents and reports spiralled out of control in the 1960s; and with the later introduction of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act in 1976, the situation only intensified, as some exotic cat owners who were unable to afford the new licences required to legally retain their pets, set about deliberately releasing their privately owned big cats in preference of having them terminated. Reports and sightings of big cats in Britain continue to this day.