Ultra-rich buying cheetahs, leading to extinction (ASL – 8.29.19)

Transcript

Trafficking cheetahs to the rich in the Middle East could mean an end to the species.

Baby cheetahs are being crammed into boxes smuggled from Somaliland across the Gulf of Aden to the Arabian Peninsula.

Baby cheetahs make their risky sea journey so they can become status pets for the rich in the Middle East.

According to the Cheetah Conservation Fund, some 300 cubs are smuggled out of Somaliland every year.

Two out of every three are dead by the end of the journey.

Experts say that most die within a year or two of captivity.

At least 1,000 cheetahs are estimated to be in the hands of people in the Gulf states.

Although private ownership and trading of wildlife is banned in most Gulf states, enforcement is lax.

There are 7,500 cheetahs left worldwide, half the number from just a decade ago.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund is racing to save the species from extinction.

They’ve set up a safe house in Somaliland for rescues.

The organization says without a mother, cheetahs have to be taught how to hunt and survive in the wild.

It can take months to get one cheetah back on its feet.

The Closed Caption version of this video can be found here:
https://sign1news.com/2019/08/29/sign1news-8-29-19/

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