The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
Butcher's guardpuma
Solomon the guard puma - put your paws up!
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Overview
This film reveals the lengths a local butcher has gone to discourage theft at his shop ‘John May Meats’ in Ilfracombe. After falling victim to eight burglaries in 20 months, John May explains to Westward TV reporter Stephen Matthews why the six-month puma Solomon is such a cool cat to have in his shop to guard the produce. The exotic pet trade exploded in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Exotic species which are not native to Britain and which require a high level of specialist care led to some being released or given up quickly once the novelty had worn off. Sightings of wild cats in particular continue although no concrete proof has ever been found that they exist in the British countryside. The Dangerous Wild Animal Act of 1976 put an end to the practice and regulated the ownership of wild animals in the UK. The exotic pet trade continues.
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