Airport stops illegal effort to import cheetah cubs

ABU DHABI // Two Emiratis and a Somali national have been held by police in Dubai after a failed attempt to bring rare cheetah cubs into the country. The cargo of 15 animals, which can only be exported under strict guidelines, was intercepted at Dubai International Airport two days ago. The shipment arrived from Somalia. All of the animals weighed less than two kilograms. "I think they were collected from their mothers," said Abdullah Salem al Jan'an, executive director for agricultural and animal affairs, at the Ministry of Environment and Water.

Because of the stressful journey, six of the animals died, he said. The remainder have been sent to the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort. The cheetah is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna. Usually, the animals are traded or exported only for the purpose of scientific exchange.
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