This one's for you, Mucky.
Gode, Ethiopia (AHN) - U.S. troops discover two cheetah cubs, one of them blinded, being forced to fight each other for the amusement of residents in this small Ethiopian village. Soldiers of the U.S. counterterrorism force for the Horn of Africa were carrying out humanitarian work when they came across the cheetahs "performing" at a local restaurant.
The task force provides help in intelligence gathering to several countries in the region as well as offering border protection.The troops provided medical treatment for the blinded cub, fed them both, and tried to persuade the restaurant owner to hand them over to wildlife officials. They then contacted U.S.-based cheetah experts, as well as Ethiopian authorities.
The restaurant owner says he will hand over the cheetahs if he is paid $1,000 for each animal.
Which is essentially a king's ransom. These animals have very little chance of living another year in their captor's cruel hands. This is merely extortion.
Housing wild animals is illegal without a proper license, but these laws are rarely enforced in Ethiopia. Deputy Wildlife Minister Ahmed Nisir has deployed officials to attempt to ensure the cheetahs' release, and a government vet is expected to visit the them Saturday.
Due to an extremely constricted genetic pool, cheetahs are amongst some of the most endangered of all the big cats, ranking alongside snow leopards. It's hard not to want to gouge out one of the restaurant owner's eyes and tie him to a fence so he can fight an adult cheetah.