Updated: April 04, 2013, 12:00 AM
In pictures: Big cat expert wants to help UAE's wildlife
Big cat trainer, Rob Punton who wants to set up a project here to train captive animals. This is likely to be controversial as many people think there should be minimum contact with humans, quite apart from the safety issues. He says training improves big cat health and welfare and can assist programmes to return specimens to the wild by teaching them to hunt. (Handout photos-courtesy Rob Punton) FOR COLIN SIMPSON STORY.
Armed with only a toilet brush, Rob Punton says he can make a better life for big cats kept in private collections in the UAE.
Rob Punton says he has developed training methods to rehabilitate abused or injured cats, and improve the lives of those born in captivity.
Mr Punton says the methods he developed over 20 years could be used to ready animals for release into the wild by teaching them the hunting skills cubs learn from their mothers.
“People here have a natural love of big cats. There are really good places that are doing conservation work. My argument … is that with any predator, once you remove the need to survive they need to be mentally active,� says Rob Punton.
Dubai Municipality’s wildlife and zoo expert Dr Reza Khan has had reservations about Mr Punton’s plans, and has also questioned whether it was possible to successfully release animals.
Mr Punton quotes a scientific paper by animal behaviour experts Gail Laule and Tim Desmond that he said supported his training techniques. “It clearly demonstrates that animals prefer to work for their food rather than just being given their food,� he???
Rob Punton is presenting an outline of his plans to wildlife centres in which he says interaction with humans creates “a happier healthy big cat�.