SPOTTED IN CRATE Cheetahs saved from traffickers

CHEETAHS have become the latest plaything of the rich – with cubs being stolen in Africa and taken to the Middle East.

The species’s plight was underlined this month when nine cubs and a young adult caught on plains in Somaliland were seized from animal traffickers.

Vets said the three youngest cubs were in poor health. And because of their age they do not know how to hunt so will need to be supported for the rest of their lives.

Cheetahs were once used as hunting animals by African rulers. But the 21st century has seen them become musthave luxury accessories for rich young Arabs to flaunt alongside their sports cars and speedboats.

Sadly the exotic pet trade is growing and puts endangered species at risk.

Poached animals often die in transit because they are snatched by criminals who show little regard for their welfare. According to charity the Cheetah Conservation Fund, only one in six cubs survive being trafficked.

More than 7,100 cheetahs survive in OUR vet Brian Faulkner, from Petplan, has 16 years of experience and is a freelance working all over the country. Send your questions to Brian at: Petplan, Great West House, Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 9DX or via Petplan’s Facebook page facebook.com/ PetplanUK. the wild and the CCF says at least 300 animals are sold each year on the illegal exotic pet black market.

Dr Laurie Marker of the CCF said: “Shortly after officials from the Somaliland environment department had confiscated nine cheetah cubs and a sub-adult from traffickers, they were on the trail of three more of the big cats which had escaped from a smuggler on the Ethiopian border.

“Two of the animals were captured by police but the third vanished into a nearby town.”

Gail A’Brunzo of the International Fund for Animal Welfare said her charity gave supplies to the CCF so it could help care for the seized cubs.

She added: “Wild cheetah populations are in dire trouble, largely due to demand for cubs as exotic pets.

“The cruelty of the live animal trade is shocking. We are doing all we can to save these cubs.”

Cheetah numbers have fallen from 100,000 in 1900, says the CCF. The loss of habitat due to the growth of farming is a huge factor in their decline. AS my cat gets older her energy just seems to drop lower and lower. It’s so sad to see her fading. Is there anything I can do to perk her up?

Vanished