In the last five years, Mr. and Mrs. Henning have assisted in 13 recoveries, including the one on Saturday in Van Buren County. In Arkansas the exotic most likely to be loose is a cougar. Henning told deputies that cougars were cunning and intelligent. He relayed several stories about tracking cougars, including a recovery in Searcy County that lasted three weeks. While federal law requires a license to breed or operate a commercial business involving exotic animals, there are no federal or state laws to prohibit anyone in Arkansas from owning an exotic animal.
Some local ordinances forbid housing exotics.
Henning said he receives an average of 12 calls a month at his business from people wanting to get rid of animals they bought as cubs or kittens. Safaripark stopped taking abandoned animals three years ago. Henning said by taking in animals no longer wanted, the business was condoning the act and quickly becoming overwhelmed. If animal owners cannot place the animals in a rescue operation, they often become desperate, he explained. More often, irresponsible owners are setting the unwanted animals free in rural locations.