SHARJAH // Despite countless warnings from experts about the dangers of keeping wild animals as pets, they are still easily available if you know where to look.
Posing as tourists, within just 20 minutes of walking into the Sharjah Animal and Bird Souq, reporters from The National were offered a five-month-old white tiger cub for Dh35,000.
"I can get you the baby tiger by Friday," the Pakistani shopkeeper said after being asked for something a little more unusual as a pet.
Kneeling on the ground to feed dozens of green parrot chicks in a cardboard box, he added: "It's from a breeder, a white tiger, very beautiful, very cute."
It was not, he claimed, dangerous or aggressive. "It has all the injections from the vet but will cost you Dh35,000. It comes with all the documents and paperwork you need, like a passport, but that will cost you Dh300 extra.
"Don't worry about the police. It's not illegal."
All commercial trade in tigers or their parts has been banned since 1987 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites).
Tigers are listed as an Appendix I species, which is an animal threatened with extinction. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that there are 3,200 tigers left in the wild. A breeder of any animal under Appendix I must have a genuine certificate from Cites stating that the parent animal is registered under the convention and can be verified by authorities in the UAE.
"There is a lot of illegal activity going on across the world regarding this kind of breeding," said Dr Reza Khan, Dubai Municipality's wildlife and zoo specialist.
"Each Appendix I animal that is being bred in captivity must have a unique ID number that is stored globally among member countries and can be traced very quickly."
Back in the Sharjah souq, the Pakistani man's cramped shop was filled with pigeons, parrots and other squawking ornamental birds in cages. He said he could also get lion cubs - but not immediately, as it depended on when they were bred.
"I'm not sure when, but they are very tame. You can hold them and stroke them like a normal cat. They don't bite or scratch," he said.
Walking around the other shops, our reporters also spotted a hooded one-year-old falcon for sale for Dh15,000 sitting on a perch behind a cage of brightly coloured canaries.
There was even a small stingray swimming in a fish tank and on sale for Dh280.
"It's from Thailand and it's the only one we have," said the Indian shopkeeper. "We've had it for about 15 days. It's a freshwater stingray, it's perfectly legal here. It's the saltwater variety that is banned," he said.
He proffered a plastic tub of fish food. "Just feed it this stuff twice a day and it's not a problem," he said.
Most shopkeepers were far more suspicious when asked about the sale of exotic animals.
"I don't sell them but you could try the shop four doors down," said one worker when asked where a baby crocodile could be bought.
Dr Khan said fewer people were keeping wild animals as pets than before, but it remained a serious problem. He said unsuspecting owners could be exposing themselves to diseases such as hepatitis and rabies, as well as the threat of spontaneous attacks.
Many wild animals were traded through the UAE before the country signed up to Cites.
The UAE signed the agreement in 1974, withdrawing between 1988 and 1990. A federal law that included the Cites treaty was passed in 2002 and in 2008 an Arabic list of prohibited species was distributed to officials.
Kevin Budd, the assistant operations manager at the Sharjah Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife, said the authorities and airline companies were working to control the trade through airports and to ensure any animal shipments passing through the UAE meet all the international and national requirements.
The result is that bringing animals in by air is risky. An Emirati man was arrested in a Bangkok airport last week after two leopards were discovered in his suitcase. Two more leopards, a gibbon, a marmoset and a bear were found in a bag nearby.
However, "people may be able to come through other channels", said Dr Khan, by bringing animals through the desert and by boat from countries including Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan and Egypt.
The most common wild animals kept as pets in the Emirates include lions, tigers, gorillas, chimps, baboons, snakes, Nile crocodiles and cheetahs.
Mr Budd said demand was fed by availability. "These species also have specific dietary and behavioural requirements, which non-professionals may not fully appreciate," he said.
The centre has also received animals with their claws and teeth removed by their owners.
"These are wild animals and are in no way domesticated; at any time they may attack the owners, their family, their friends or neighbours."
nhanif@thenational.ae
melshoush@thenational.ae
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
Scores in brief:
Day 1
New Zealand (1st innings) 153 all out (66.3 overs) - Williamson 63, Nicholls 28, Yasir 3-54, Haris 2-11, Abbas 2-13, Hasan 2-38
Pakistan (1st innings) 59-2 (23 overs)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'
Rating: 3/5
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Mads Mikkelson, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Jude Law
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Health Valley
Founded in 2002 and set up as a foundation in 2006, Health Valley has been an innovation in healthcare for more than 10 years in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
It serves as a place where companies, businesses, universities, healthcare providers and government agencies can collaborate, offering a platform where they can connect and work together on healthcare innovation.
Its partners work on technological innovation, new forms of diagnostics and other methods to make a difference in healthcare.
Its agency consists of eight people, four innovation managers and office managers, two communication advisers and one director. It gives innovation support to businesses and other parties in its network like a broker, connecting people with the right organisation to help them further
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
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Stage 2
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:18:30
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06
4. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06
5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08
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