There is a small but thriving secret market here that offers wild animals like lions, leopards and chimpanzees for sale. There is demand and the buyers are those fond of keeping the dangerous animals as pets and willing to pay the price. The illegal sale and purchase of these animals is also carried out through the social media, local Arabic daily Al Arab reported yesterday. The asking price for a lion cub can be QR90,000 ($25,000) on average, while that for a chimpanzee is up to QR70,000 ($19,223).  A leopard, on the other hand, can command a price of around QR45,000 ($12,500) in the Qatari market, the daily said. These animals are smuggled into the country, pointing to a need to mount added vigil at the points of entry of goods, including livestock. Keeping dangerous animals as pets in violation of the law here is not uncommon. The daily said that one person visited a friend’s home in February 2013 in Al Azizya suburb and was stunned to see a lion sitting in his living room. 

“I turned back and ran to safety. I haven’t been to the friend’s house ever since and I don’t want to go there ever,” the man said. Recently, a Filipina maid was killed by a “pet” lion in a home in Kuwait, and in the same country a young Kuwaiti was rescued by people after a leopard inadvertently kept hungry for two days by a family attacked him. The daily said it managed to visit some homes in Qatar that have wild animals as pets and the people there spoke on the condition of anonymity. One home had a lion, a chimpanzee and a leopard and the hair-raising part of the dangerous practice was that these animals were living amid three children of their owner. The oldest child was 10. “When we asked him how he could trust these animals with his children, the owner replied causally that the animals were friendly.” He said a belt was tied around the lion’s neck, for instance, and the moment he would be aggressive, the animal could be given electric shock with a remote device and it would become okay.

But the leopard in the home remained unleashed and was moving around freely. The owner said there is a big market for wild animals in a neighbouring country, and in Doha there is a small replica of it that offers dangerous animals for sale on the sly. “It is a secret market.” The practice of people keeping wild animals as pets was highlighted by the Ministry of Interior in a warning recently. Headlight Bulb Lexus Es 350There were discussions on social media on the issue with people decrying the trend and urging authorities to act tough against those who breached the law.Homes For Sale 14098 Commentators suggested that an extensive inspection campaign be launched and the animals be caught and sent to the zoo. Vertical Blinds Repair Gold Coast

The owners must be fined hugely, made to pay for the animals’ daily upkeep in the zoo and allowed to visit their animals at regular intervals. News Source : The Peninsula / Al ArabYour browser is out-of-date!Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now ×Keeping lions as pets presents dangers, ministry warns Qatar residentsUpdated at 4pm with statement from The Pearl-Qatar property managers UDC.The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has issued a warning to Qatar residents of the dangers of illegally keeping large, wild animals as pets.In a practice that’s popular among some segments of society in Qatar and across the Gulf region, wild cats – particularly cheetahs and lions – are favored as exotic pets.Photographs have been posted on social media over the years showing the big cats around town, sitting in the passenger seat of SUVs and speed boats.“@qatarnews: RT @iloveqatar: A photo of a Qatari with a cheetah in his cruiser made @thechive … http://t.co/3YJbrZSr” only in Qatar!!

— Claire White (@clairehardiman) November 7, 2012Meanwhile, Qatar Living has in the past featured adverts for the sale of these potentially dangerous animals, with price tags of up to QR40,000.However, as keeping wild animals as pets is against the law in Qatar, the MoI has recently taken to social media to warn residents of the potential repercussions of the hobby.It particularly highlights the fact that while animals may appear domesticated, they are innately wild and can suddenly “turn” on their owner, keeper or another person nearby at any moment.“These hobbies involve serious consequences as the responsibility of the person who pets them goes beyond to other people that reside in the neighborhood or the area as well as those (who) visit parks or open recreational areas. It as well (amounts to a) violation of the prevailing laws that prevent terrorizing innocent people or frightening them.“These animals cannot be trusted as they are by nature wild and this wild nature cannot be changed by home environment,” The MoI says in a Facebook post.

The MoI signs off its post, asking for comments from residents on what they think should be done, saying: “We look forward to your feedback and suggestions regarding these type of behaviors and how to counter them.”Pearl petsMeanwhile, rumors of wild cats being spotted as pets at The Pearl-Qatar were confirmed to Doha News by property manger United Development Co. (UDC).However, it said it has “zero tolerance” for violations of its policies that prohibit exotic and wild animals from being kept within the island, adding it took swift action:“In one case, a resident kept a lion cub in one of the towers, while in the second case, a cheetah was kept by a resident in a Viva Bahriya tower.  In both cases, UDC issued breach notices to the owners warning them to remove the animals immediately, and both animal pets were removed immediately.“The Lion cub case was dealt with successfully five months ago, immediately upon discovery of this violation, while we dealt successfully with the Cheetah case immediately upon finding out about it three months ago,”  UDC spokesman Roger Dagher said in a statement to Doha News.He said they had received no further reports of wild animals being kept as pets and added that the ministry’s rules would continue to be enforced on The Pearl

:“The Pearl-Qatar is a community in Qatar and is subject to the laws and regulations of the state of Qatar. Therefore, an MoI warning to this effect applies to all residents in Qatar, which necessarily includes all residents at the Pearl-Qatar,” Dagher continued.Tougher actionThe MoI’s warning has attracted considerable comment, particularly from residents who question the strength of enforcement behind the law in Qatar and call for tougher action at the border against smugglers as well as those who keep the animals.In July this year, the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) called on governments in Qatar and the GCC to step up action against the fashion of raising these big cats as household pets.It is illegal to internationally trade in live cheetahs, under Article III of the CITES Convention, which Qatar and other GCC countries have signed.The report said that while some cheetahs may have been bred in captivity, the success rates of captive-bred cubs in the GCC region is low and says that most cheetah pets were likely procured illegally.