Two people have been arrested by Spanish police in Mallorca after an operation to sell exotic felines like tigers, pumas and leopards was uncovered on the island.
Nineteen animals were seized by the Civil Guard including a caracal and two servals, the authority said on Thursday. Agents carried out the operation on Manacor on the Balearic island of Mallorca.
Over forty irregular animal passports were found from countries like Russia, Belarus and China. The Civil Guard says it believes it has uncovered a ‘global criminal organisation’ through the sting which involves breeders, transporters, and veterinarians.
The detainees are one 48-year-old Russian man and one 46-year-old Russian woman. There is also a 48-year-old Israeli man is also being investigated.
Police reports indicate that the animals entered the European union through the Polish border with Belarus and were then able to be distributed using fraudulent documents.
The operation is a result of over a year-long operation by the Civil Guard which began in March 2024. This is when officers became aware of the Russian couple in Palma de Mallorca who were raising servals, caracals and hybrids with domestic cats to sell them using social networks.
Video footage of the raid shows several exotic felines kept in cages, held in a facility which bears resemblance to a zoo or wildlife reserve.
The suspects are alleged to have offered to sell white tigers, Eurasian lynxes, hyenas, black leopards, pumas and clouded leopards – for which they were asking 60,000 euros (£51,297).
Attempts to breed and own these types of felines as pets are widespread in Russia and Ukraine, and the trend has begun to be imitated in other countries, the authorities added.
The animals will be transferred to a rescue and rehabilitation centre for exotic mammals in Alicante, in eastern Spain.
Breeders have now hybdrized wildcats with domestic cats, creating smaller varieties which are cause for various health concerns. Sterility and viability remain a persistent issue because of premature births.
Adding to concern is that many of these hybrid caracals and servals are not domestic by nature, and can view domestic cats as prey.
