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Britain
You've got a cat? OK, you can stay in Britain, officials tell Bolivian immigrant
2009-10-19
It may have been one of the least plausible attempts to avoid deportation - but it worked.

A Bolivian immigrant has won his fight to remain in Britain because he and his girlfriend have a pet cat. Immigration judges ruled that sending the unnamed man home would breach his human rights by interfering with his family life.

The decision by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal caused ' disappointment' at the Home Office and amazement among anti-immigration campaigners, who questioned why a cat could be considered relevant to an immigration case.

Court papers have kept secret the name of the animal
It's a cat. It's name is whatever the person who feeds it thinks it is.. in People, at least. It's name in Cat can be known only to cats.
as well as that of the immigrant as part of its privacy procedures.

The solicitor who represented the Bolivian, Barry O'Leary, said the cat was one detail among many in the case. He said: 'When giving the reasons for the success the judge did comment on the couple's cat.' Immigration judge, Judith Gleeson, joked in the official ruling that the cat 'need no longer fear having to adapt to Bolivian mice'.

The Home Office has asked for the decision to be reconsidered, saying the decision was wrong in law, and too much consideration was given to the cat.

Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green said: 'If pet ownership is going to be used as a reason for deciding immigration cases then the law really is an ass. 'This is clearly not a sensible use of human rights legislation which is designed to protect people's basic needs.'

It is not known why officials want to deport the man.
Posted by:tipper

#6  Warning: Too much Monty Python may be behind the rationale.
Posted by: GirlThursday   2009-10-19 23:29  

#5  "Which are the size of a Chuhauhua"

In other words, a snack for my any self-respecting cat.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2009-10-19 18:58  

#4  Move him to an East Asian ethnic neighborhood where 'cat' translates into 'the other white meat'.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2009-10-19 08:20  

#3  The cat 'need no longer fear having to adapt to Bolivian mice'.

Which are the size of a Chuhauhua.

Posted by: Galactic Coordinator Pholush5475   2009-10-19 07:01  

#2  Well I would value a cat more than an illegal immigrant, so I guess this make some kind of sense.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder   2009-10-19 01:45  

#1  Animals = Humans. Makes sense when you realize that making a man leave his cat is like making him leave his son, at least according to the UK immigration authorities.
Posted by: gromky   2009-10-19 01:21  

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