The daily said the animals were caught from the jungles of Africa and smuggled illegally to these Gulf countries. Each animal was sold for about $15,000, according to Le Monde.
The French paper added, several non-governmental organizations have reported that one-third of the smuggled animals are fed cat food or sweets. Patricia Trekurach, a leading anti-smuggling leader in the tiger conservation fund, said that between 2012 and 2017, the fund has counted 1,367 tigers, which were offered for sale in the Gulf, or 20 percent of the number of tigers living in the wild.
Le Monde said the acquisition of the tigers has become a popular trend in Kuwait and the UAE and is no longer confined to the rich. “It’s not uncommon to see a tiger walking around a street or getting his head out of a car window,” the paper said.