Egyptian security forces on Tuesday carried out a prosecutor's order to transfer 10 rare-species animals from a private ranch in rural Giza to Giza Zoo, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.
Two units from the Central Security Forces (CSF), along with two armoured vehicles, secured a team of veterinarians who supervised the transfer of the animals from El-Ayat in southern Giza to Giza Zoo.
The transferred animals included a Bengali tiger worth USD $100,000, four White Siberian tigers each worth $USD 60,000, two cheetahs, four spotted-hyenas as well as a rare African spurred tortoise.
The transfer comes one week after a rare mountain tiger escaped from the ranch—owned by a businessman who holds an international license to trade in endangered species—and attacked and killed a nine-year-old girl.
Villagers and security forces succeeded in tracking down the tiger and killing it.
A Giza prosecution investigation into the deadly incident determined that the ranch violated many safety standards and laws, including the failure to place locks on the animals’ cages.
On Wednesday, the prosecution ordered the detention of the ranch's owner for four days pending investigations into charges of manslaughter.
On Friday, the Ministry of Agriculture suspended issuing and renewing licenses to ranches raising wild animals pending a revision of the rules regulating their operations.
According to the ministry, there are 17 ranches in Egypt which are licensed to raise wild animals in Giza, Alexandria, South Sinai, the Red Sea and Fayoum.
