Couple arrested for breeding unique cats in Spain

Spanish authorities have arrested a pair suspected of promoting unique cats on-line, together with protected species like white tigers, pumas and clouded leopards.

Civil Guard police raided the couple’s house on the island of Majorca after studying that they had been proudly owning and breeding uncommon feline species which they then bought on social media.

In complete, 19 felines had been discovered on the property and rescued by brokers. They included a caracal, two servals and 16 hybrid felines.

The Civil Guard say the invention was simply “the tip of the iceberg of a plot” of a worldwide prison organisation involving breeders, transporters and vets.

“Many of the animals provided on the market got here from nations akin to Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, to be smuggled into the European Union,” the Civil Guard mentioned.

The authorities mentioned the couple’s social media was “extraordinarily lively” as folks from different nations contacted them to buy these kinds of animals.

The animals had been smuggled into the EU by means of Poland’s border with Belarus after which distributed with false paperwork, they added.

Europe is a central hub for unique wildlife commerce and the illicit black market is on the rise, in line with the Worldwide Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

The couple additionally marketed different animals by means of social media together with hyenas, desert lynxes and pumas.

A clouded leopard – an animal native to the Himalayas – with a price ticket of €60,000 (£52,000; $68,000) was additionally put up on the market on-line.

This raid was a part of a wider operation which started final March. One different individual is being investigated for promoting varied species of unique animals on the web.

The animals have been quickly positioned on the Son Servera Safari Zoo in Majorca. They’ll later be relocated to a rescue centre close to Alicante.

The excessive demand for unique cats is fuelled by social media as a result of the felines will be seen as an indication of wealth or standing, in accordance the IFAW.

However these cats – which require plenty of area – are tough to take care of.

“They’re very aggressive and might pose a hazard to folks or different animals” which results in many individuals eliminating them, the Spanish Civil Guard mentioned.