DUBAI: Dubai authorities said Tuesday a joint task force was cracking down on the illegal possession of dangerous animals in the Gulf emirate, where owning exotic wildlife remains popular in some circles.
The joint task force of Dubai police and municipal authorities “has responded to many cases of violation during the past weeks,” a police statement said.
Authorities are working “around the clock to curb violators and confiscate wild and dangerous animals to keep them away from residential areas,” it said, urging members of the public to report and hand over such animals.
In mid-May, Dubai police said a hunt was underway for a wild animal on the loose in a residential neighborhood, after reports of an escaped big cat.
A video of what appeared to be a big black cat circulated on social media groups, and residents of The Springs community were warned to “exercise all necessary caution.”
Local media later reported that animal turned out to be a domestic cat.
A 2016 federal law prohibits people “from owning, possessing, trading or breeding dangerous animals,” with a maximum penalty of six months in prison and/or a 500,000 dirham ($136,000) fine, according to the statement.
Despite the penalties, private zoos are not uncommon in the United Arab Emirates.
Dubai authorities say cracking down on owners of illegal wildlife
https://arab.news/8wda4
Dubai authorities say cracking down on owners of illegal wildlife
- Joint task force of Dubai police and municipal authorities responded to many cases of violation during the past weeks
- Authorities are working to curb violators and confiscate wild and dangerous animals to keep them away from residential areas
Palestinian president affirms efforts to release Marwan Barghouti from Israeli prison
- Mahmoud Abbas praised Barghouti’s resilience during a meeting with his wife, Fadwa, at presidential headquarters in Ramallah
LONDON: President Mahmoud Abbas emphasized the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to support calls for the release of senior Fatah leader and Central Committee member Marwan Barghouti from an Israeli prison.
On Tuesday, Abbas received Fadwa Barghouti, his wife, at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, affirming that his release has always been a top priority for both the presidency and the Fatah movement.
Abbas praised Barghouti, who has been in Israeli prisons since April 2002 after receiving five life sentences plus 40 years for his conviction of carrying out deadly attacks on Israelis during the peak of the Second Intifada of 2000.
Hamas proposed Barghouti’s name on the list of prisoners to be exchanged for Israeli captives, but Israel declined to release him in October. The 66-year-old national figure also served over four years in prison in 1978 for political activism. Analysts have long seen him as a potential presidential candidate if and when he is released from prison.
His family accused Israel Prison Service officers of having beaten him unconscious. In August, the Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted video footage showing him visiting Barghouti in prison and making threatening remarks to him.
