A wildlife rescue organization filed a lawsuit after one of its members claimed that a cat that was taken by the police had experienced mental trauma.
Following the theft of Finlay the cat, Wildcat Haven wrote to North Wales Police.
The police took it after learning that the establishment was housing an unregistered Scottish wildcat.
Four months later, when tests revealed Finlay to be a common tabby, the animal was given back by the police. Force officials have declined to comment.
Based in St. Asaph, Denbighshire, Wildcat Haven has asserted that he experienced "physiological and psychological trauma" and has made a number of claims regarding the conduct of the police.
According to Wildcat Haven's attorney, Joseph Morgan, the group discovered the cat as a three-week-old kitten in the Scottish Highlands, severely malnourished, drenched in water, and on the verge of death.
He was taken to a Conwy enclosure for treatment before being eventually released because people thought he was a Scottish wildcat.
Finlay was scheduled to be released in the spring of 2022, but those plans were derailed on February 14 of that year, Valentine's Day, when officers removed him from the farm, claiming he was being held without a permit.
According to Wildcat Haven, Finlay's rehabilitation lacked a license.
In taking Finlay from Wildcat Haven's care and keeping him for more than four months, Mr. Morgan claimed that North Wales Police had overstepped their bounds.
They undid months of labor that went into rehabbing Finlay for release into the wild. As a result, Wildcat Haven has had to retrace their steps in their quest to see Finlay in the wild once more. ".
The fact that Finlay is not a wildcat, but rather a domestic tabby with some wildcat genes, upsets Wildcat Haven as well.
If the organization releases Finlay into the wild, the assessment may cause issues for them because they may be breaking the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.
Finlay wasn't brought back until June 28, 2022, allegedly in "very poor condition.". Wildcat Haven claimed that it took more than six months to restore his health.
According to the organization's director Emily O'Donoghue, Finlay was wrongfully detained because a Scottish wildcat's rehabilitation and release do not require a license. ".
He was "emaciated" when he returned, according to her, after spending "four and a half months in a quarantine cage.".
Even though a police-arranged assessment of him indicated that he should have been identified as a Scottish wildcat, Ms. O'Donoghue said, "the police returned him because they said he was a domestic tabby cat.".
She stated that Finlay "suffered needlessly" as a result of the police holding him longer.
We will keep fighting for his freedom, she declared.
While North Wales Police has declined to comment on Wildcat Haven's allegations, it has previously stated that Finlay was kept at a special facility where it received regular visits and veterinarian evaluations.
Finlay exhibited behaviors typical of a domestic cat, according to the report, and there was no sign of disease.
