Exotic species that were illegally offered for sale online were seized by officials in Sharjah.
Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, director-general of the Environment and Protected Areas Authority, shared that their protection officers found five animals including a white lion cub and two cub tigers and two monkeys, according to a report from The National.
UAE residents are banned from owning such animals privately.
An anonymous tip from the public gave away the location and arrested a suspect in connection with the attempted sale.
Al Suwaidi said it took them two to three months to verify that the complaints were not malicious. After that, they obtained a warrant from prosecutors and then confiscated the animals with the help of the police’s special task unit.
Previously, they have also confiscated four lions, one lioness, three pythons, and two crocodiles.
Back in 2018, more than 142 exotic animals including tigers, cheetahs, and snakes, were rescued in different private residences in Sharjah.
Under the existing law, any private individual who is caught trading or breeding dangerous animals can be fined Dh100,000. If they repeated commit it, the penalty will be doubled.
