From St Asaph to Bala there have been sightings of what appear to be large cats.

Over the years, it has been speculated that these animals belong more to the savannah then the hills of North Wales.

But many believe these beasts are real and could cause a real problem for farmers up and down Wales.

This has led to questions about what the government is doing to track these animals.

Clwyd West Assembly Member Darren Millar has asked the Welsh Government what research it is undertaking into big cats in Wales following a number of sightings in recent years in Denbighshire and Conwy.

He raised the matter with the natural resources minister Carl Sargeant AM in the Senedd after being alerted to sightings of the wild animals in his constituency.

He said: “There have been a number of sightings over the years of big cats in the Welsh countryside, including in Conwy and Denbighshire, with tracks having been found in the snow a few years back in the Clocaenog Forest and a number of farmers having lost livestock mysteriously which show signs of big cat type attacks.

“I wonder what research the Welsh Government may have commissioned on the subject of big cats, and the threat that they might pose to native wildlife species.”

The Minister said the Welsh Government has not commissioned any work on big cats.

In the late 1960s it became fashionable for people to keep exotic pets like some breeds of big cats.

This led to the government of the day passing the Dangerous Wild Animals Act to stop people from keeping unsuitable pets.

Following the passing of legislation rumours began to spread of sightings of big cats in rural areas.

These were believed to have been dumped by their owners in response to the new law.

Mr Millar added: “There has been a flurry of sightings of big cats since the Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976 made it illegal to keep untamed pets. Many owners of exotic cats such as pumas or lynx simply freed their animals into the countryside. It is worrying that despite there being a number of sightings across Wales, the Welsh Government is doing nothing about it.”

He added: “I’m surprised that the Welsh Government has dismissed my calls for some research into big cats. There are many interested organisations who would be willing to undertake such research including the Royal Agricultural University, who contacted me after I raised the issue in the Assembly.

“There have been a number of attacks on livestock which have the hallmarks of big cats in North Wales over the years and animal tracks were found in the snow in the Clocaenog Forest a number of years ago which suggested a large cat could have been there.”

The sightings in the Bala area led to an incident where a lemur that had escaped from an animal sanctuary was shot in 1995.

Bala farmer and president of the FU, Emyr Jones said: “I do remember there being things in the press about big cats and people talked about it but it has been very quiet for the last few years.

“But we still have plenty of problems with foxes. They are still a big problem that isn’t getting any better.

“Every lambing season there are losses which are worse in some areas than in others and I think that Bala is one of the areas that has a problem with this because there are hundreds of acres of forest in the area.”