By Mark Simpson BBC Ireland correspondent

You need a licence to own a dog, a television or a car in Northern Ireland - but you do not need a permit to keep a black panther, a lion or a tiger.

The big cat was blamed for an attack on this sheep

There is a loophole in the law, and some wild animal fanatics are taking advantage of it.

Somewhere in Northern Ireland, there is a panther being kept in a cage, two bears in a garden shed and a crocodile splashing around in a bath in a household garage.

You do not believe it?

Do not take my word for it.

That information comes from the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (USPCA).

And the reality is that there may well be many more animals out there that the authorities do not know about.

It appears that one such animal escaped from a private owner recently and is now roaming the North Antrim countryside.

The latest sighting was by a woman near Ballymoney who opened her kitchen curtains on Friday morning and saw a puma lying in the middle of her back garden.

We have an exotic full-grown cat on the loose, and he's going to be very difficult to catch USPCA director Stephen Philpott

The jokes have started flying around, with people saying she maybe mistook it for her neighbour's Jaguar.

The reality is, of course, that this is no laughing matter.

This puma - some say it may be a lynx or a panther - is believed to have killed a sheep.

The ram weighed more than 11 stone (70 kg).

And even though it may have been lame, it would not have been an easy animal to drag down.

Local people fear the next victim could be a child. Police say the risk to the public is very low.

Police now believe the big cat on the loose is a panther

USPCA director Stephen Philpott believes the big cat was being kept by a private owner but escaped - or was let go - three weeks ago.

"What lunatic let this happen?

"How was he able to bring this animal here in the first place?

"I've seen its tracks, and I have its droppings in a police evidence bag.

"I'm fully convinced we have an exotic full-grown cat on the loose.

"And he is going to be very difficult to catch."

The USPCA say the law has to be changed.

The Dangerous Wild Animals Act applies in other parts of the United Kingdom, but not Northern Ireland.

Wild animals

As a result, owners of exotic pets do not have to register them.

And that means they avoid routine checks by police and animal welfare groups.

It also means than when an animal is running free around the countryside, there are no official records to help find out where it may have come from.

In all, there are five wild animals on the loose in Northern Ireland, according to Mr Philpott.

Police marksmen

So how can they be caught?

In the case of the big cat in County Antrim, car-loads of local people have been looking everywhere for it, as have police marksmen.

Search teams have even tried using a spotter-plane to help them track it down.

So far there have been 21 sightings, but no one has managed to corner it.

It seems this cat has more than nine lives.