Animal trafficking: a major concern in the UAE

Sleeping together on the same bed, Mariam would wake up in the morning to her baby tiger licking up her face. Mariam El Suwaidi, an Emirati business student, had the chance to cuddle and play with her own tiger cub in Dubai, although in 2016, the UAE introduced a federal law no. 22 banning the trade and ownership of dangerous and semi-dangerous animals.

“We got him (tiger cub) in 2018 from a family friend, and I was told not to take pictures of him or post him anywhere; it was our little secret,” continues El Suwaidi, over a phone call, “in our family, owning a tiger or a lion symbolizes wealth; so we kept him hidden among our family members for 8 months.”

The government has implemented fines that would range from AED 10,000 to 700,000, which in some cases may be accompanied by a jail term and the animal would be taken away, according to the UAE government portal.

“Owning a tiger was too much pressure, he would scratch and bite, but he was really sweet when he used to cuddle with me,” said El Suwaidi, “However, he ended up having ring warms (a fungal infection of the skin) spreading in the family causing a mini pandemic within the house, and we had to give it away.”

The UAE has also increased its security measures to tackle the problem starting off with the airport security and staff, where the main smuggle takes place, considering the UAE an international hub and a meeting point; and ending up establishing reserves for endangered animals.

“At Dubai customs checkpoint, we are responsible for limiting the smuggling following the CITES agreement with the help of Ministry of Climate change and Environment. We would have small sized animals and endangered animal parts (skin, ivory…) smuggled through air” said Adel Jasim Al Maki, senior manager at Dubai airport customs checkpoint, in a phone call.

“With all the strict regulations, we still face a great number of people, who try to smuggle in banned animals” said Awais Al-Madani, head of section at Dubai custom, in a phone call. “We have had many cases where smugglers would hide monkeys (banned type) tapped under their jackets, others would have snakes hidden in bags and birds stuffed inside bottles” Al-Madani said.

According Al Maki, most of the animals come from Africa; however, with travel restrictions imposed by the pandemic smuggling through air has decreased, whilst land smuggling maintained activity.

“Some dogs are being smuggled into the UAE from Oman and others are being sent from European countries at young age without proper vaccination and fake documents,” said Sara Waheed Alzaki, founder of PARA (Protection of Animal Rights Association) in a message. All whilst, the illegal business goes beyond exotic animals and still taking place in UAE’s pet markets.

Thus, by enforcing laws and measures, humans and animals would be granted protection; whether, it is from the physical harm of dangerous animals or the transmission of their diseases. In 2020, the United Nations office on Drug and Crime released a report showing the effect of illegal trade as it does not only lead to biodiversity and worsen climate change, but it is “a threat to human health, as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.