Owning a big cat is one thing, but caring for it is another

Readers voice their views about keeping cheetahs and other big cats in the UA. Photo: Silvia Razgova / The National

 

Letters to the Editor

August 28, 2014

In reference to your news story, Big cats ‘a threat to young children’, says Al Ain vet (August 28), the UAE is a signatory to Cites, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which has procedures in place to protect rare species.

This means rare animals may be traded only with appropriate paper­work. My contention about the UAE having stricter laws is that appropriate paperwork does not affect one’s ability to properly house and care for wild animals.

What often happens when these big cats are kept as pets is they are de-clawed and have their canines removed. This means they no longer pose a threat to their human keepers, but also means they are unable to eat their natural diet.

This brings about degenerative diseases which are irreversible. Why would anyone with common sense and reason want to keep as a pet a big cat or any other wild animal that does not belong in confined spaces?

I guess the good news from all this is that an education process seems to be underway, but it feels like there is still a lot of progress that needs to be made.

Gilda De Monte, Abu Dhabi

Keeping these kinds of big cats as pets seems to me to be all about the prestige of ownership and with little or no regard paid to the true wellbeing of these creatures.

I am disturbed by the thought that veterinarians agree to conduct surgery to de-claw these animals and remove their teeth to render them safe as pets.

Dalya Eason, Abu Dhabi

source