UAE journalists posing as buyers reveal jaguar cubs for sale on Instagram

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Wildlife

UAE journalists posing as buyers reveal jaguar cubs for sale on Instagram

21 February 2019
News
Animal traffickers are peddling jaguar cubs in the UAE on Instagram.

A short video clip uploaded on the photo-sharing app this week from an account with over 16,000 followers shows a pair of jaguar cubs with their mother in a mesh fronted enclosure. The accompanying caption reads: “Jag cubs available upon serious requests, not pets — zoos only! DM for information”

The third largest wildcat species in the world, jaguars are listed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and their trade is strictly prohibited.

However, they were readily offered to this reporter when he posed as a buyer on Instagram.

“A pair will cost Dh100,000, plus shipping and airport fees,” said the seller who identified himself as Oliver from Slovakia in central Europe.