![]() ![]() With a high turnover, he openly keeps many young animals in a relatively small garden and set of cages. Influencer Jumana Khan, tagging Safari_Dubai during a photoshoot with a lionĭespite the fact that we can catch glimpses of Safari_Dubai together with MBE.777 in various photoshoots, these two individuals do not follow, mention, interact, or tag each other’s accounts.ĭespite his handle, Abdulla does not appear to be in the safari business. We can connect this account to MBE.777 because its posts feature pictures and videos of the same animals seen on MBE.777’s account, on the same furniture: According to its description, this account is selling the animals in its posts worldwide, taking cash upon delivery to your home. Cubs for Cashīeyond photoshoots, MBE.777 also appears to sell animals kept in the Dubai apartment.Īnother Instagram account, the aptly-named Exotic_Petsdubai, appears to help MBE.777 in these sales. ![]() It also appears that these animals are also being transported to other locations and homes for celebrity photoshoots. The same couch and TV model appear alongside the MBE.777 tag in photos posted by Indian celebrity Adnaan Shaik (13.4 million TikTok followers), German entrepreneur Saygin Yalcin (717k Instagram followers), and Indian “fashion influencer” Shadan Farooqui (4.2 million Instagram followers).įrom this geolocation and the space between Instagram posts, it appears that MBE.777 is keeping young animals in a Dubai apartment for several weeks at a time. The furniture and MBE.777 tag also allow us to identify users who have visited this apartment to pose with tigers and lion cubs. The same TV set and view from the window, as found in old apartment rental advertisements MBE.777 shares photos and videos of these animals, all of which were taken in the same couple of rooms: MBE.777 has kept young animals on a rolling basis since at least October 2019, with a continuous supply of new lion and tiger cubs, as well as other exotic animals. Followers of this account frequently ask “How much?” or “DM”, requesting to message privately with MBE.777. It follows about 15 people at the time of writing - but MBE.777 regularly prunes his list of subscribers. This effort to remain anonymous may suggest that he is aware of the laws in the UAE regarding exotic and dangerous animals.ĭespite its private setting, MBE.777’s Instagram account has nearly 15,000 followers. He reveals neither his face, name, nor voice in his Instagram posts. MBE.777 - and he wants to keep it that way. But where do they come from? The Room Where it Happens These two cubs have helped celebrities rack up thousands of much sought-after views. ![]() Right: A photo of the same cub held by Zahid Khan, found by Andy Richardson of the Birmingham Mail Left: Detail from Sara_Khaliifa’s Instagram photoshoot with the white tiger cub. Her post has since been deleted, but we can still find traces of it in Google’s cache and on Pinterest. In August 2019, Esha Gupta, an Indian film actress and model with five million followers on Instagram, posted a picture of herself holding a white tiger cub. They therefore tend to be the result of continuous inbreeding in captivity, so are prone to severe genetic defects. These animals are in fact Bengal tigers with a pigment condition that is extremely rare in the wild. That’s because they are expensive to acquire, expensive to care for - and they don’t stay harmless for long. Most of these photo shoots take place within the first few months of the cub’s life. Photos with lion or tiger cubs are particularly sought after. Those posts may provide illegal traders with free advertisement - but they also allow journalists to apply open-source techniques, revealing more about this shadowy trade. In social media posts to their millions of followers, celebrities continue to show off their tigers, cheetahs and monkeys. Unfortunately, despite this law the trade continues. In 2017, the UAE adopted a law that prohibits individuals from owning, trading or transporting dangerous or exotic animals such as primates and big cats, placing heavy restrictions on facilities such as zoos and breeding centres that keep them. It can also be illegal, sustaining poaching and international organised crime. However, keeping animals such as lions and tigers as ‘pets’ is problematic, causing harm to the animals’ physical and social well-being. Much like cars and watches, exotic animals such as tigers have a long history of being used as status symbols, particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). ![]() Screenshot from MBE.777’s August 2019 Instagram video ![]()
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