At the beginning of this year, the black leopard was found in an apartment building in Riga, where the animal was kept in one of the specially equipped rooms. The one and a half year old animal had a sedentary lifestyle that resulted in being overweight. It has also been found that the leopard has amputated fingertips, thus getting rid of the carnivore’s nails.
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“Respecting the recommendations of the prosecutor’s office so as not to harm the course of the case, we will not provide any comments. It will not be possible to film a black leopard,” Māris Lielkalns, a representative of the Riga Zoo, told the program by refusing to comment.
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The Prosecutor General’s Office “Taboo” confirms that the display of the black leopard is prohibited to persons not involved in the investigation.
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“This animal is material evidence in this case. According to the law, we do not show material evidence to third parties,” explains Aiga Eiduka, a representative of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Latvia.
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The answer to the question of what could happen to a black leopard if it were shown to visitors to the Zoo is that it is simply in accordance with the law.
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“Yes, it is an animal, but it is material evidence in this case. Three people have been prosecuted in a criminal case. One person is being prosecuted for cruelty to an animal, two are being prosecuted for violating trade rules for endangered wildlife,” Eiduka explains.
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The pre-trial investigation is still ongoing. It is not yet known when the case will finally be heard in court.
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The head of the Wildlife Protection Division of the Nature Protection Board points out that the keeping of rare animals must be coordinated with the Board.
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“Leopards are one of the endangered species, wild populations are declining. Black animals are even rarer. Therefore, it is a rare animal whose trade is very tightly controlled. In case a person could provide ideal conditions for a very dangerous species such as tiger The risk posed to society is too high to allow such an animal to be kept, “says Jēkabs Dzenis, the head of the Wildlife Protection Division of the Nature Protection Board.
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The portal “Apollo” has already reported that a black leopard was removed from an apartment in Riga in January, and the police have initiated criminal proceedings on suspicion of violating the rules of the endangered wildlife trade.
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The animal was kept in a specially equipped room in the apartment and that the person with whom the animal was present had not received a certificate or permit from the Washington Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora certifying the legal origin of the specimens in question.
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As Ingmārs Līdaka, Chairman of the Board of the Riga Zoo, told LETA, the animal arrived at the zoo in early January with a pronounced overweight. The animal is about 15-16 months old and weighs over 60 kilograms, which means that it has not yet fully grown.
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Pike found that feeding was not suitable for black leopard, because even in zoos, such predators are fed very wisely so that they do not become obese. “The zoo has new owners, a new home, and he will probably never be as friendly here as in an apartment,” said the zoo manager.
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Asked what will happen next with this animal, Līdaka said that the Riga Zoo does not need this animal. “The leopard has to build a very complex, large abode, because his ability to jump is much greater than that of a tiger, and we do not have such a abode,” the zoo manager explained. He hopes to arrange for the animal to be moved to one of the European shelters by spring, but the zoo does not yet understand the animal’s legal status.
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“We do not understand whether the animal is in our zoo and whether it can be handled indefinitely. In my opinion, this leopard is material evidence, but I have no idea whether an investigation is taking place at all,” Līdaka said.
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