United Arab Emirates just banned keeping of exotic wild animals as house pets as of Tuesday according to foreign media.
For the locals in the Arabian gulf, having being an owner of wild animals like cheetahs, tigers and the sort is symbolic to their [bourgeoisie?] social status, but that comes at a hefty fine or serious jail time.
It is not new coming across content on social media displaying wild cats and what not being walked in the streets and as recent as last October when a video of five tigers at a beach in Dubai too surfaced.
Owing to general common sense, law enforcement officials have albeit long overdue but now showed concerns about the danger of public safety in such ordeals.
The new law bans dealing in and ownership of "all types of wild and domesticated but dangerous animals," a gulf news agency reported.
These animals can now only be kept in zoos, wildlife parks, circuses, and breeding and research centres.
Anyone who takes a big cat or any other kind of exotic animal out in public will face up to six months in jail and a fine of up to 500,000 dirhams ($136,000).
Furthermore, the fine can be increased to 700,000 dirhams if the keeper resorts to using their pets to intimidate others.
Dog owners too will have to now obtain permits and keep their animals on the leash in public.
Failure to do so could trigger a fine of up to 100,000 dirhams. The same penalty applies to owners who fail to vaccinate their dogs against dangerous diseases.
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