Despite suggestions to the contrary, it’s still legal to have a cat in Scotland.
According to The Associated Press, First Minister of Scotland John Swinney has issued a statement assuring citizens that the government is not banning feline companions after a report suggested “cat containment” for environmental reasons.
The report, published by the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission, said that 700 million birds and other animals fall to the claws and teeth of adorable kitties across the U.K. each year. Curbing said behavior, the report notes, could help protect the endangered Scottish wildcat.
Suggestions included walking cats on leashes and “restrictions on introducing cats to households in vulnerable areas.” With the government declaring it would “fully consider” the report, Scots were worried that they could be losing their beloved cats.
However, Swinney assures that isn’t the case.
“Let me just clear this up today,” Swinney said. “The government’s not going to be banning cats or restricting cats. We’ve no intention of doing so and we will not be doing it.”
The U.K. cat charity Cats Protection added that there’s a middle ground between outright banning cats and letting them roam as they please, suggesting “pragmatic solutions like keeping cats indoors at dawn and dusk can balance the needs of domestic cats and wild animals.”