TORONTO — Residents of Ontario can legally keep lions and tigers in their backyards, but neither the province nor federal authorities can say how many of the dangerous predators are being kept in captivity, a CBC News investigation has found.

Ontario is the only province in Canada with no licensing or permit system for keeping non-native wild animals. That leaves individual municipalities to decide which species residents may own.

The result is a patchwork of local rules that critics say allows dangerous animals to move from town to town with little oversight.

'Leave my vehicle running'

In Wainfleet, a rural township about 43 kilometers (27 miles) southwest of Niagara Falls, exotic animals became such a persistent problem that local officials wrote their own rules in 2018.

Enforcing those rules falls to Mark Tardif, the township's chief bylaw officer. He said he has dealt with a wide range of exotic animals, including about five or six tigers, a jaguar, lemurs, kangaroos and water buffalo.

"Snakes, unfortunately, lots of snakes," Tardif told CBC News.

Among his cases were dozens of animal escapes from a roadside zoo called Ringtail Ranch. This spring, he dealt with a resident who kept several tigers on a local property.

Tardif said he plans an escape route whenever he responds to calls involving big cats.

"I usually leave my vehicle running and the door open, in case I have to bolt," he said.

He said his protective vest was not designed for such encounters. "I don't know how........

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