Cheetahs are the world's fastest land animals and face severe threats from habitat loss, human conflict, and an illegal pet trade that causes immense suffering to individual animals.
Cheetah cub trafficking causes severe welfare harm at every stage. Capture typically involves killing the mother and separating very young cubs, causing acute psychological trauma. Transport mortality rates are high — many cubs die before reaching buyers. Survivors arrive in states of severe distress and often die within months from disease and malnutrition. Those that survive longer face lives in inadequate captive conditions that cause chronic behavioral abnormalities. The demand for cheetah cubs as status symbols primarily in the Arabian Peninsula drives this suffering. Reducing demand through consumer awareness campaigns and strict import restrictions in Gulf countries is the primary leverage point.