'I found an alligator in a car boot and an ostrich walking down the street' SSPCA chief retires after 37 years

Mike Flynn MBE has announced his retirement from the Scottish SPCA at 65 years old, after working for the animal welfare charity for 37 years.

From finding an alligator in the boot of a car to chasing an ostrich down a city street, the head of the Scottish SPCA has called time on his colourful career. Mike Flynn MBE has announced his retirement after 37 years with the animal welfare charity as the chief superintendent and former elephant zoo keeper turns 65.

Speaking to BBC Scotland News, Mike reflected on the many unusual animal encounters he’s dealt with over the years. Among the more memorable moments in Flynn’s long career was a bizarre incident back in 2004 when the team stumbled upon an alligator for sale in Edinburgh.

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A man had purchased the 4ft reptile online but quickly realised he wasn’t equipped to care for it. Posing as buyers, Scottish SPCA officers, with help from plain-clothes police, arranged to meet him in a car park.

Upon opening the boot of the Vauxhall Cavalier, they were confronted by the unrestrained and unmuzzled creature. "He was keeping it in a bath on the fifth floor of a tenement in Leith," Mr Flynn said.

"He advertised it. We got in touch pretending to be buyers and he turned up at a car park with this alligator in the back of the car. We caught him red-handed.

"So I ended up with my colleague getting the enviable task of taking this alligator to Torremolinos in Spain.

"It was transported in a purpose-built crate, it was flown from Edinburgh to London, then London to Madrid. It was then transported in the rear of a hire car by myself and a colleague from Madrid to Torremolinos.

"And he’s still there today - Jimmy the alligator from Leith in Edinburgh.”

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Flynn's years with the Scottish SPCA have brought him into contact with all kinds of animals, from wild boars to ostriches. In one case, he received a Sunday morning call about an ostrich spotted on Leith Walk in Edinburgh.

He said: "I remember getting a phone call one Sunday morning from someone I actually thought was drunk. He said that he had seen an ostrich on Leith Walk in Edinburgh, but he said it was limping.

"And lo and behold, I got there and the police are pointing at this ostrich which is walking down the street. It was a farmed ostrich which had fallen off the back of a lorry. The guy wasn’t that drunk after all.”

Throughout his career, Mike has been involved in numerous high-profile cases, including the biggest puppy farm bust in Scottish history in 2017, when over 100 animals were rescued.

In 2006, he was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s 80th birthday honours list for his services to animal welfare, an honour he says belongs to the entire Scottish SPCA team.

As he looks forward to retirement, Mike plans to take things at a slower pace, though he won’t be disappearing completely. He will remain on the Scottish government’s animal welfare commission and has a few projects lined up.

He added: “It will take a while to sink in. It’s been 37 glorious years. I can’t complain. I can honestly say that I haven’t had one bad day in all that time. I’ve loved it.”

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