Firefighters responding to a house fire in a New Orleans suburb on Tuesday discovered an African serval being kept in a backyard enclosure. Officials with Jefferson Parish Protection and Animal Welfare Services (JPaws) subsequently took custody of the animal, stating that its owner did not have the required permit for keeping an exotic animal.
According to a JPaws spokesperson, fire crews were investigating a minor fire at a residence in Marrero when they found the serval, a wild cat native to sub-Saharan Africa. The animal was housed in a 9-by-9-foot chain-link cage, which the spokesperson, John McCusker, described as resembling “a dog kennel.”
JPaws Director Michelle Brignac and Humane Department Supervisor Victoria Clark were called to the scene to assist fire personnel. A statement from the agency reported that Brignac and Clark secured the hissing serval and placed it in a transport carrier. McCusker confirmed that local ordinances require an exotic animal permit to legally possess a serval, and the homeowner did not have one.
The animal was transported to the JPaws facility in the nearby community of Harvey. Officials have placed the serval in a dedicated room while they search for an appropriate long-term refuge. The agency stated it was exploring a temporary placement at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. However, a spokesperson for the zoo later clarified that the institution does not plan to house the animal and understood that JPaws was pursuing another arrangement.
In its statement, JPaws provided information on the challenges of keeping servals in residential settings. The agency said the animals can experience chronic stress in captivity due to a lack of adequate space and stimulation. According to the statement, servals often mark territory, can become aggressive as they mature, are difficult to house-train, and require a specialized diet and care distinct from domestic cats.
The incident in Marrero follows other reported cases involving servals in North America. In 2023, officials in Cincinnati, Ohio, captured a serval that was later found to have cocaine in its system. In late 2025, a serval that escaped a Pennsylvania wildlife center was fatally struck by a vehicle. Authorities in Vancouver, Canada, returned an escaped serval to its owner in June, shortly after the province of British Columbia enacted new rules requiring permits for such animals.
