In follow-up to the “Raspberry of the Week Award”, this sight has become all too common in the UAE. Sadly, owning a cheetah there has become something of a status symbol, despite the fact that the UAE signed the CITES agreement in 1990 and that existing laws in the Emirates provide for a large fine and up to 6 months in jail for buying or selling endangered species. Earlier this year, when a pet cheetah died after escaping from a cage in a private villa, there was some talk about strengthening the laws banning ownership of exotic animals as pets, but to my knowledge, nothing has moved forward on it since.
