AL AIN: Al Ain Zoo received four cheetah cubs, aged between 6 to 10 weeks, that were confiscated by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change from a private owner on the UAE-Saudi border.
This is in line with the commitment of the zoo to the UAE's policy to ban the private possession of dangerous wild animals by individuals who are not qualified to look after them, as their presence inside houses or on farms poses a danger to the owners and the general public.
"The conservation of endangered animals, especially dangerous ones, is one of the main missions for which the zoo was founded in 1968," said Myyas Ahmed Al Quarqaz, General Curator of the Life Sciences Department at Al Ain Zoo.
"Accordingly, we included a centre devoted to the care of confiscated animals as one of our new development projects, in order to achieve our mission, in line with the guidance of the UAE government," added Al Quarqaz.
Danger
The public must understand how dangerous these life-threatening practices can be, he said, adding that dangerous animals should never be kept as pets.
He noted that wildlife standards must be adhered to in terms of veterinary care, security, and safety.
As part of the ongoing cooperation between the two entities, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change informed the Al Ain Zoo that it had confiscated the four cheetahs, and instructed officials at the zoo to take all measures to protect and care for the animals.
The zoo received the cubs and quarantined them as part of the normal procedure to provide them with veterinary care and vaccinations to ensure they were not diseased.
