(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) A woman, who was found with 40 cats being crammed in a room of her villa has been ordered to pay a fine for mistreating the pets, and would be deported from the country, an Abu Dhabi court ruled.
All the cats were in very poor health condition, with one found dead.
Official court documents stated that the Arab woman was gathering the cats and kept them in her villa which is located in Abu Dhabi. She would then sell the domestic animals to people wanting pets despite her not having a commercial permit to do so.
Residents in the area where the woman lived allegedly reported to authorities after a very bad smell coming out of her villa, with flies around the area.
A team from the Abu Dhabi Police went to the woman's villa and found 40 cats that were malnourished and in poor health condition. One of cats was found dead.
"The cats were found crammed in a small place and in a manner that would not allow them to move freely. The place was also dirty with cat feaces scattered everywhere," said authorities.
"A medical examination also showed that the cats suffered from fever, had worms in their intestines and skin rashes and all required urgent treatment."
The Public Prosecution had ordered that the woman be detained.
Prosecutors also ordered that all the cats found in the woman's house be transferred to the Emirates Wildlife Center for proper treatment and proper care.
Public prosecutors had charged the Arab woman with mistreating and harming animals, denying them healthcare and freedom of movement when she confined them in her villa, poorly feeding the animals and selling the pets without a permission.
The woman had denied mistreating the cats and keeping them for commercial purposes, stressing that it was her hobby and that she's been keeping pets over the past 40 years.
She told the court that she loved pets and that she only gathered them so she could take good care of them and provide them with food.
The Abu Dhabi Appeal Court however found her guilty on all charges and was told to pay a fine. The judge also ordered that the woman be deported from UAE.
Know the law: According to the UAE law on domestic animals, anyone who harms, mistreats pets, denies them food and health care or keeps them in a poor environment that can harm them or restricts their free movement and other related violations, faces a penalty including an imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year and or a fine of not more than Dh200,000.
Ismail Sebugwaawo
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