Testing inconclusive, suspected bobcat returned to N.J. owner
A judge has returned a 38-pound feline to a New Jersey woman after DNA testing couldn’t conclusively say whether it was a purebred bobcat.
The Asbury Park Press reports that Municipal Court Judge Damian Murray ruled Friday that Ginny Fine can regain custody of 38-pound Rocky. A DNA test found that the cat’s mother was 98 percent bobcat, but couldn’t determine its father’s lineage.
Fine would not have been able to get the cat back without a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection if it was a purebred bobcat.
Rocky has been held since April 7 at Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey after it went missing for 12 days from Fine’s home.
Fine pleaded guilty to letting the animal get loose and was fined $1,000.
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