Two tiger cubs that had been rescued from an illegal private keeping in Slovakia in Central Europe were transferred by the global animal welfare organisation, Four Paws to be rehomed in South Africa.
The one-year-old female cubs, one white, named Snow and Sky, were released at the Lionsrock Big Cat Sanctuary in Bethlehem in the Free State.
These big cats travelled the 13,000 km journey to ensure they lived full lives.
In mid-April, the two cubs, together with their male sibling, were confiscated by local authorities from cruel, illegal private keeping in Slovakia and temporarily accommodated at Zoo Bojnice, until they could be transferred to Lionsrock.
The cubs were being kept as pets at the time of their rescue.
“The cubs are yet another shocking example that big cats should never be kept as pets. Four Paws calls for an end to the cruel keeping, breeding, and trade of big cats, which is still not regulated in many European countries, and worldwide,” the organisation said.
President and CEO of Four Paws, Josef Pfabigan said the released of the sister cubs into their forever home is the happy ending they deserve.
“In their new forever home, they can roam their natural surroundings and enjoy a new sense of life. We must not forget that many big cats suffer in private keeping like Snow and Sky did. The protection of wild animals has been close to our hearts at Four Paws since the very beginning.
“We are striving to find sustainable solutions and working with our global network towards properly and strongly implemented and enforced legislation for big cats, along with protecting the animals, we rescue for the rest of their lives,” Pfabigan said.
Head of Wild Animal Rescue and Advocacy, Patricia Tiplea said the cruel private keeping can have a permanent negative impact on big cats. They are often sick, malnourished, locked up in inappropriate cages, abused as pets, or for entertainment, and killed for their fur and body parts.
“These two tiger cubs have been deprived of the care of their mother since a very young age. At Lionsrock, Snow and Sky have a bright future ahead of them. It is amazing to watch them explore their outer enclosure and see that they are already starting to recover from their past,” she said.
The third cub was found dead in the enclosure at the zoo earlier in June, after suffering fatal injuries. The conditions that the cubs experienced in the previous private keeping may have led to this tragic accident.
According to the organisation, contrary to the widespread misconception that tigers with white fur belong to a different species, the white colour is caused by a rare and recessive gene. The rarity of this gene makes white big cats more commercially valuable, and they are extremely sought after. Breeders often resort to inbreeding, which often leads to life-long suffering due to serious health problems.
The cubs were illegally bred in Slovakia, and although legislation prohibits the keeping, breeding, and trade of big cats by private owners, it is still widely practised in Europe.
According to data from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITE) from 1975-2018, several European countries are ranked among the top 30 global exporters and importers of tigers.
To put an end to the commercial trade of captive tigers and their body parts, Four Paws called on all EU Member States to implement the 2023 EU Tiger Guidance and introduce a “positive list” of species that can be legally kept and traded as pets.
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