Dubai: Two small pythons, a few green iguanas, a wild cat with her kittens, a turtle and a couple of exotic macaws are among many other species on display at the 20-day Ramadan and Eid Fair 2013 being held until August 10 at the Sharjah Expo Centre.
And if you want to buy one of them to keep as a pet, all you need to do is ask one of the handlers. “Dh800 for the small python, Dh800 for an iguana of your choice or Dh800 for a pair of rabbits. A parrot will cost you Dh150, while the macaw comes for around Dh10,000,” a staff of the Small Horse Corporation, the company that set up a live animal corner at the exhibition, told XPRESS. The Dubai-based company which claims to conduct safaris on horses and camels and rents out animals for occasions, does not mention anything about selling animals in their commercial banners.
However Khalid, a representative of the company, said over the phone, that Small Horse Corporation’s ‘Safari Horse and Camel’ did have all their animals on display at the fair on sale. No official was at hand to confirm whether it was legal and safe to display or sell such species — each of whom demand a different type of natural habitat — but visitors didn’t seem too bothered.
“My children loved seeing the rabbits and the hamsters playing around,” said Aya, a Syrian mother of three. However, some visitors did raise concerns, “While the young ones love watching the animals, I am not sure how safe is it to interact with these animals from such close quarters with no protective glass cover. Besides the physical harm they can cause, there’s always this fear of flu or related outbreaks,” said Priyanka, an Indian mother.
