A new Dubai Police taskforce set up to combat the illegal trade in exotic animals cracked its first case after foiling the sale of a wolf in the emirate.
The Environmental Crimes Division sprung into action to arrest a man while he attempted to complete the sale of the animal.
The new police unit was established at the end of last year and is not yet fully operational. But officers are already making their presence felt.
"We handled our first case – a man trying to sell a wolf illegally," said Col Khalfan Al Jallaf, head of the unit.
“An arrest warrant was issued by prosecutors and we caught the man during the selling process.”
Dubai Municipality will arrange for the shelter of the wolf.
The new division of the Dubai force will tackle crimes against wildlife and the illegal sale of exotic animals.
It will handle reports, carry out confiscations, refer cases to prosecutors and arrange to provide shelter for animals.
"Offenders possessing wild animals to sell will be penalised with prison and/or a fine not less than Dh50,000 and not exceeding Dh500,000," Col Al Jallaf said.
Under existing laws, he said, using exotic animals intentionally to scare people is punishable with prison and a fine of up to Dh700,000.
"But if a wild animal was intentionally used to assault a person and this person died because of the assault, the punishment could go up to life in prison," he said.
But if it was an unintentional act, the owner of the animal would face a wrongful death charge.
Anyone walking wild animals in public can be fined Dh10,000 and jailed for up to six months.
The unit reports to the general department of criminal investigations and is also responsible for identifying and maintaining records of licensed owners of exotic animals in the emirate.
“Our aim is to have a specialised section at Dubai Police that deals with these types of offences based on relevant laws and in co-ordination with strategic partners,” said Brig Jamal Al Jallaf, director of the general department of criminal investigation at Dubai Police.
“The move is to reinforce public safety and handle all offences resulting from owning exotic animals.”
He said setting up the unit came after some incidents involving exotic animals.
"These include raising and breeding wild and dangerous animals and showing off with them on social media," Brig Al Jallaf said.
“Such behaviours endanger people’s lives and are in violation of laws.”
The section will also combat crimes on antiquities, including theft, smuggling and copying, unlicensed possession of antiquities, or undertaking excavations without a permit.
UAE takes action against traffickers
Hiba Al Shehhi, acting director of biodiversity at the UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, told The National earlier this year that authorities continued to tighten border controls to tackle the illegal trade.
"Customs authorities across the country use state-of-the-art cargo container scanning technology," Ms Al Shehhi said.
“Such efforts result in better control of the country’s points of entry for goods and passengers, leading to the confiscation of illegal wildlife items.”
According to the UAE environment ministry, between 2010 and 2019, 37 live cheetahs from different countries were confiscated at UAE points of entry.
Most of these were seized between 2010 and 2014, and from 2015 to 2018 no confiscations of cheetahs were recorded.
But in 2019, two cats intercepted from smugglers at the Saudi border were transferred to Al Ain Zoo. Two other cheetahs picked up at the border were sent to another, undisclosed, Emirates zoo.
The care of confiscated animals is one of several new UAE development projects to protect endangered animals.
The National Team for Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade was formed in an attempt to co-ordinate anti-trafficking legislation and enforcement across the region.
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Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE SQUAD
Khalid Essa (Al Ain), Ali Khaseif (Al Jazira), Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah), Mahmoud Khamis (Al Nasr), Yousef Jaber (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai), Khalifa Al Hammadi (Jazira), Salem Rashid (Jazira), Shaheen Abdelrahman (Sharjah), Faris Juma (Al Wahda), Mohammed Shaker (Al Ain), Mohammed Barghash (Wahda), Abdulaziz Haikal (Shabab Al Ahli), Ahmed Barman (Al Ain), Khamis Esmail (Wahda), Khaled Bawazir (Sharjah), Majed Surour (Sharjah), Abdullah Ramadan (Jazira), Mohammed Al Attas (Jazira), Fabio De Lima (Al Wasl), Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Khalfan Mubarak (Jazira), Habib Fardan (Nasr), Khalil Ibrahim (Wahda), Ali Mabkhout (Jazira), Ali Saleh (Wasl), Caio (Al Ain), Sebastian Tagliabue (Nasr).
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
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- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
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Sunday, December 8, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v USA
Monday, December 9, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – USA v Scotland
Wednesday, December 11, Sharjah Cricket Stadium – UAE v Scotland
Thursday, December 12, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v USA
Saturday, December 14, ICC Academy, Dubai – USA v Scotland
Sunday, December 15, ICC Academy, Dubai – UAE v Scotland
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Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
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5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 2,200m
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 1,400m
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
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Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
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Europa League group stage draw
Group A: Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Astana, Slavia Prague.
Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, Skenderbeu.
Group C: Sporting Braga, Ludogorets, Hoffenheim, Istanbul Basaksehir.
Group D: AC Milan, Austria Vienna , Rijeka, AEK Athens.
Group E: Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, Apollon Limassol.
Group F: FC Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sheriff Tiraspol, FC Zlin.
Group G: Vitoria Plzen, Steaua Bucarest, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, FC Lugano.
Group H: Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Cologne, Red Star Belgrade.
Group I: Salzburg, Marseille, Vitoria Guimaraes, Konyaspor.
Group J: Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, Ostersund.
Group K: Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse Arnhem.
Group L: Zenit St Petersburg, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, Vardar
Our House, Louise Candlish,
Simon & Schuster
