Any observer of social media will notice that the trend for keeping exotic animals in private homes is alive and well. Pictures of endangered and dangerous “pets” continue to appear on Instagram. The authorities continue to receive complaints about wild animals in neighbourhoods.
Sharjah has taken bold action to tackle this issue. Last November, the emirate issued a ban on owning dangerous predators in residential areas, allowing only public and private zoos, scientific research centres and universities to keep them, and only after obtaining the required licence. The decree by the Ruler of Sharjah, also offered a one-month amnesty for exotic pet owners in the emirate to give up their banned animals without facing a Dh100,000 fine. After the amnesty was over, the authorities cracked down on owners, confiscating a number of wild animals, including leopards, baboons, hyenas, crocodiles, lynx and wolves. Last Sunday, as The National reported, the authorities continued their campaign, seizing a lioness from a residence in Al Qarain.
While this was a good step, the one-month amnesty was clearly not enough to get everyone on board. This is why, perhaps, the amnesty should be extended and be accompanied by a greater awareness campaign targeting both pet shops and the public about the heavy fines and prison sentences that await those who fall foul of the law. This would allow more people to be properly informed about the regulations and come forward to legally give up their animals.
The Ministry of Environment and Water announced it has drafted a new bill on the regulation and possession of wild predators. But laws usually take a long time to come into force. In the meantime, the rest of the country should follow Sharjah in the fight against this dangerous practice, which not only affects the well-being and conservation of wild animals, but also poses health risks to their owners and raises safety concerns in the community.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
