Alberta is home to wild cats such as cougars and bobcats, but typically not ones from Africa.
Okotoks resident Nikki Holmes was fined $15,000 after illegal importing two servals, large African wild cats, into Alberta.
An investigation concluded that the cats were purchased in British Columbia and Quebec and imported into Alberta with the intention of breeding them.
Holmes pleaded guilty to possessing the servals, listed under the Wildlife Act as a controlled animal unlawful to import or possess except under strict permitting requirements, to the Calgary Provincial Court of Justice on Jan. 15.
According to a release by Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement, the investigation was assisted by the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service and Quebec Wildlife Protection Service.
The cats are currently being housed and cared for at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, according to the release.
Serval ownership has garnered a great deal of attention on social media due to the exotic animal's beauty, fuelling the illegal trade of the cat worldwide.
