DUBAI // A wildlife expert has given up on his controversial plan to set up an organisation for cheetah owners in the UAE after failing to get the support it needed.
Dr Mordecai Ogada said he had not managed to establish contact with wildlife collectors who owned the endangered big cats.
"I pursued many sources in zoos, government and private ones, but nobody would actually admit to me that they owned a cheetah, nor speak to me once I knew they had a cheetah," he added.
"The 'cheetah people' in the UAE seem to be a totally closed shop. Under these circumstances, I couldn't pursue any further the funding and support that I had targeted for this purpose."
A year ago, Dr Ogada called for an owners' club to be set up as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the damage caused to wild populations by the illegal trade in cubs.
He said that it would support cheetah conservation projects in Africa and organise trips to see the animals in the wild.
"The club would also provide expert advice and veterinary information on how to keep captive cheetahs as healthy and happy as possible," he added.
However, the plan came under fire from other experts, who said it would encourage smuggling as members competed to have the largest collection of cheetahs.
A month later he modified his proposal, dropping the term "club" in favour of a forum or network.
"It would be a forum, not a membership thing like a club or a privileged or exclusive thing, because a club has connotations," he said at the time. "It might be something people would aspire to join."
But even this modified plan met with opposition from some quarters, though the Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund was among those who backed his proposals to educate owners.
The scrapping of the idea was welcomed by Dr Elsayed Mohamed, the programme manager at the Dubai office of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
"We are against teaching people how to keep cheetahs in captivity because this would encourage people to smuggle cheetahs and keep them as pets," he said. "We are against the forming of a club or a workshop or anything to teach this, cheetahs should be kept in the wild."
A Dubai-based vet who regularly treats cheetahs went further, saying such an organisation should be outlawed.
"I think it should be illegal to have any association, any club because it would encourage people to keep cheetahs, it should be banned," said the vet, who asked not to be named.
"The genetic pool of the whole species, especially the North African cheetah, is so narrow that there is no way to rescue it. They are basically condemned to extinction in the wild."
Dr Ogada was the East African co-ordinator of a cheetah conservation programme at the time he put forward the club plan, but has since become the deputy director of a conservation group in Kenya.
The cheetah, the fastest animal over short distances on land, is listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species as being threatened with extinction, and trade in the animals is illegal except in very unusual circumstances.
Dr Ogada said the keeping of captive cheetahs occurred across the Arabian Gulf, but was particularly common in the UAE.
Dr Jörg Kinne, a pathologist who performs post-mortem examinations at Dubai's Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, said in April that cheetahs were by a long way the big cat he saw most often.
He revealed that the lab had performed post-mortems on 77 adult cheetahs, and said specimens kept in captivity were prone to a range of illnesses.
csimpson@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
Top goalscorers in Europe
34 goals - Robert Lewandowski (68 points)
34 - Ciro Immobile (68)
31 - Cristiano Ronaldo (62)
28 - Timo Werner (56)
25 - Lionel Messi (50)
*29 - Erling Haaland (50)
23 - Romelu Lukaku (46)
23 - Jamie Vardy (46)
*NOTE: Haaland's goals for Salzburg count for 1.5 points per goal. Goals for Dortmund count for two points per goal.
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
