Pet bobcat seized from Swansea home returned to family

SWANSEA, Ill. (AP) - A pet bobcat seized last month from a Swansea (SWAN'-see-uh) family is back home after the owner was fined for not having proper permits.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports that Lakesha Mayweather has since applied for and received a federal exhibitor's permit from the Agriculture Department.

Capone the bobcat was seized and Mayweather was charged with keeping a dangerous animal and importing live game without a permit. This week a judge dismissed the importing charge but convicted her of keeping a dangerous animal. She was fined $50 and ordered to pay $3,500 in restitution.

Illinois conservation police officials say Mayweather believed she had followed the law when she bought the declawed and neutered Capone for $1,800 from a Missouri breeder and obtained what she thought was a proper Illinois permit.