After the country was gripped by the plight of runaway wallaby Sammy, who has since died from an illness, the issue of keeping exotic animals as pets has once more been subjected to discussion.
Sammy the wallaby made headlines in June, spending nearly two weeks on the run before he was recaptured and returned to his owner in Consdorf. The case attracted the attention of the authorities, who confirmed Sammy's owner had failed to secure the correct authorisation for her pet wallabies after moving to the Grand Duchy from Germany. But what of other exotic animals in Luxembourg?
There are a number of other exotic creatures kept as pets in Luxembourg, owned by private individuals who have sought the correct authorisation from the Ministry of Agriculture.
In a recent parliamentary response to Pirate MP Marc Goergen and independent MP Ben Polidori, formerly of the Pirate Party, minister Martine Hansen said that 78 authorisations had been issued to date, concerning 15 exotic animals.
The authorisations include 20 alpacas, 25 spiders, 9 snakes, 5 scorpions, a wild boar, a kangaroo and one exotic bug species. Prior to the introduction of the new animal welfare law in 2018, the ministry had issued authorisations for around 130 snakes, 30 spiders and seven llamas.
