An otter and 25 venomous snakes live somewhere in the Stroud district, though not in a zoo or wildlife park.

Stroud District Council currently holds two dangerous animal licences, according to a Freedom of Information request - one for an otter and another for the snakes.

The otter is of the Asian small-clawed variety, the smallest otter species in the world, while the snakes' species is given as just "venomous" in the council's response to the FoI.

 

The FoI was made by the Local Democracy Service, which also asked other councils in Gloucestershire what animals they have registered.

A very rare breed of ‘Zorse’ - a cross between a Zebra and a horse - lives somewhere in the Cotswolds along with 60 ostriches while two Serval Cats – a small feline’s head attached to a leopard’s body – roam a plot of land in the Forest of Dean.

By law, councils have to issue licences to those who want to keep a dangerous wild animal but not in a zoo or wildlife park.

Councils check if the animal will be kept in conditions which pose no risk to the public and safeguard the animal's welfare.

The otter and snakes come at no veterinary cost to Stroud District Council, but the same can not be said of other councils.

Cotswold District Council had to pay £376 to vets in 2016, while the Forest of Dean District Council paid a total £468 over two years from 2016.

Are you the owner of any of these animals? Contact alex.clark@newsquest.co.uk so the SNJ can pay a visit.