JEDDAH, 23 July 2004 — “Two authentic tiger skins for sale. SR1500 each. Serious inquiries only,” read the small ad in a classifieds supplement distributed by Al-Madinah newspaper.
Considering that trading in endangered animal furs and skins is a criminal act that can carry some serious prison time and heavy fines in many countries around the world, Arab News contacted the number given in the ad. A man named Ahmad answered and an appointment to meet was set up.
The meeting took place at Ahmad’s place of work, a well-known and respected marketing and advertising agency located near Palestine Street. After a 10-minute sales pitch on investing in different activities this marketing agency was involved in, Ahmad produced a plastic grocery bag and pulled out the two furs, which in fact, were leopard furs, not tiger.
Both dead leopards were young adults, their gender unknown. The light-colored, spotted furs still had the claws attached to the skin where the paws once were. On its head were the ears, still intact. Touching and smelling these furs brought to mind how majestic these animals must have been when alive.
Arab News contacted Dr. Deborah Zahid, owner of Tahlia Veterinary Clinic who said: “These furs are worth somewhere between SR10,000 and SR15,000 each. Trading in them is illegal and a violation of the CITES agreement. Selling them would normally be difficult, and done in secret. This is not the kind of thing you would expect to see advertised in the newspaper.”
CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants do not threaten their survival. Saudi Arabia is a signatory.
All leopard species are listed on Appendix I of CITES, which states that trade is totally banned for primarily commercial purposes. Officially, they are protected everywhere although some African countries allow licensed and controlled hunting for trophies in limited numbers for which licenses are issued. In order for this sale to have been legal, the seller must have a CITES compliance certificate, which Ahmad did not have and had never heard of.
Recently, several people have been arrested in the United States by police officers accompanied by CITES personnel. If this transaction had been completed in the US, both Ahmad and this journalist would have been subject to arrest.
“Because the laws regulating the sale of illegal furs are not enforced here in Saudi Arabia, it is a commonplace occurrence. On some days just outside the airport, you can find people in theirs cars parked with their boot open, selling animal skins that just arrived in the country in passengers’ luggage,” Dr. Deborah Zahid told Arab News.
According to CITES, over the past three weeks alone, 10 tiger skins, 25 leopard skins, four sacks of fresh tiger bones, and the claws of 31 tigers and leopards have been seized in 11 cases throughout South Asia.
