UAE penalizes possession of wild animals with hefty fines, life in prison

The United Arab Emirates has made the possession of wild animals as domestic pets illegal, issuing a new law that penalizes offenders with either a fine of up to $190,000 or life imprisonment.

UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan issued the Federal Law No. 22 of 2016 which aims to regulate the possession, trading and breeding of dangerous animals, local media reported on Tuesday.

The law, which was published in the latest issue of the country’s official gazette, states that the penalties range from AED 10,000 to AED 700,000 and life in prison. The law states that any person who uses dangerous animals to assault humans and causes permanent disability will be punished by three to seven years in prison. The discipline shall be life imprisonment if the attack leads to death.

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If the dangerous animal attacked others without the intention of his master at the time of an incident, the owner will be charged with manslaughter or unintended injury as discussed in the Penal Code.

The ownership of wild animals, from lions to cheetahs, has posed as a major problem in Gulf Arab countries in recent years.

Efforts to regulate such pets have been debated in the UAE’s Federal National Council since last October.