Dubai: What to do if you spot a dangerous animal on the streets

Dubai - Emergency reports can be made on 999, the police said.

Prevailing laws in the UAE prohibit the possession, trade or breeding of dangerous animals. The Dubai Police have taken to Twitter to explain what residents must do if they spot abandoned or stay animals that are dangerous.

“Article (8) of Federal Law No.16 of 2016 stipulates that anyone who finds abandoned or stray dangerous animals shall immediately report the matter to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment or Dubai Municipality,” the police tweeted on Monday.

Emergency reports can also be made on 999, the police added.

A federal law, which regulates the ownership of dangerous animals passed in 2017, specifies fines of up to Dh500,000 for violators. The law bans dealing in and ownership of all types of wild and “domesticated, but dangerous” animals.

The Dubai Police had recently foiled an attempt by a man to sell a wolf in the emirate.

The case came to light when the newly-established Environmental and Archaeological Crimes Division received a tip-off that someone was trying to sell the wild animal in Dubai.

The accused was promptly arrested and referred to judicial authorities. Meanwhile, the wild animal was handed over to the Dubai Municipality to provide medical care and shelter.

The special division collaborates closely with the Dubai Municipality to confiscate wild and dangerous animals, keep them away from residential areas, and transfer them to their natural inhabitants or to qualified and licensed animal welfare centres.

• Dubai