UAE | General

Official calls for regulatory body to tackle animal trafficking in GCC

Cites rampant smuggling of endangered species from various countries

  • By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:00 December 9, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Megan Hirons Mahon/Gulf News
  • Dubai Zoo Section Head Saleh Al Najar. Most of the animals in the zoo have either been gifts or have been confiscated.

Dubai: A unified anti-animal- smuggling body should be formed for the GCC region to bring down the number of wild and endangered species trafficked from country to country, said the head of Dubai Zoo.

Mohammad Saleh Al Najar, head of the zoo section at Dubai Municipality said a strong law needs to be drafted to stop smugglers. International bodies like the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) should have a bigger presence in the region as well, he added.

What IFAW has to say about the illegal animal trade

In 2007 and 2008 hundreds of animals were confiscated from passengers coming to the UAE by customs officials due to lack of any, or valid import and export permits.

Timeline: Illegal trade of wild, endangered animals in UAE

Live cheetah cubs, caracals, Nile crocodiles, boas, pythons, monkeys, African grey parrots and falcons were some of the species found being smuggled in. Animal trophies and skins seized also make for a long list of some of the most endangered animals on the planet with significant quantities of rhino horn and ivory featuring on the list.

Dozens more have been taken off people in 2009 but the official report will be issued next year by the Ministry of Environment and Water.

How much some exoctic pets cost in the UAE black market

After arrival from countries that include Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, South Africa, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, they are quarantined and eventually end up in the Dubai Zoo, Al Ain Zoo or Sharjah Breeding Centre. Animals are sometimes dropped off by their owners.

"We face a lot of problems with monkeys. We get them more than any other animals. It is a huge problem for the animal and the owner to have these animals especially because they carry more than 200 transmittable diseases," said Al Najar.

UAE law on trade in endangered animals

Related Links

Karl Amman, a Kenya-based anti-poaching activist and documentary film maker believes some Bedouin villages in the Egyptian Sinai specialise in trafficking wildlife into Saudi Arabia and on to the rest of the Middle East.

"The grey parrot trade is totally out of hand and I guess you would have seen hundreds of them. If you start tracking their CITES import and export permits you will find that a lot are fake and that where they are not fake, they often are part of shipments exceeding the export allocations certain countries in Central Africa have been given," said Amman.

During a previous visit to Sharjah's Birds and Animal Market, Amman said a salesman "showed me a large animal encyclopedia in Russian and indicated that I could chose pretty much any animal I wanted and they would produce it... It is totally out of hand," he said.

More from UAE General

  1. Last chance for subscribers to win big

  2. A tale of two books: Unsung and unread

  3. Signing 1,951 books in single session

  4. Viber still working in the UAE

All articles in General

More from UAE

Gulf News
Popular in UAE

More from UAE

Mooch

Mooch ado about nothing

Mooch represents dreams, troubles of a Dubaiite

National Day wallpaper

40 years of UAE

Download commemorative wallpapers of the UAE

<i>Building a Nation</i> is both accessible enough for newcomers in the UAE to appreciate the emirates and informed enough for long-term residents to value the history and context.

Book

Gulf News' book chronicles UAE's rich history

Latest news
Community Reports

More from Community Reports

Weather

More from Weather

A day to remember two different lives

History

Gulf News Editor-in-Chief recalls the UAE of old

UAE Journey

Video

GNTV takes us on a journey across the emirates