Dark Luxury: Wealthy Buying Up Illegal Cheetahs Driving Them To Extinction

Today we’re diving into a new series called Dark Luxury which will take a look at the underbelly of wealth, something that’s not new but nor is it often highlighted enough. This is a sad report to have to make although it’s not a new issue however, shedding more light on abuse like this will hopefully play a part in educating and or shaming people into thinking twice about something that will surely lead to a problem with the Cheetah population as a whole. Spoiler alert…it already has.

For a lot of people who have accumulated great wealth often find the need to flaunt it, as well one-up others and this is exactly where this mindset can lead. It takes only a few seconds exploring hashtags on Instagram to not only find pictures of pet Cheetahs being bragged about, but you can see how it encourages others to follow suite. Yes I may sound a bit preachy, but if I can use my little soapbox to help spread some awareness to a good cause I surely will with our Dark Luxury series.

CNN recently put out a report highlighting the plight of the Cheetah due to this and just what effects this will have on their population in just a short timeframe. Not only that, but the conditions in which they’re kept and transported often lead to horrendous medical problems, as well leading to a quick death and short life for these beautiful creatures.

“The trend is of “epidemic proportions,” according to CCF, an organization devoted to saving cheetahs in the wild. At the current rates of trafficking, the cheetah population in the region could soon be wiped out.”

The sale of these Cheetah cubs are not only done in markets in Somalia an other places nearby, but online through social media platforms as well as Google seems to not police it much at all. It takes just one Google search to see illegal sales of exotic pets, not just Cheetahs, being offered. Hopefully at the very least this can be squashed as it makes it way too easy to buy these exotic animals that have no business being in your home.

I can only think how social media has fuelled this need for “eflaunting” and it’s sad to think this is just one type of problem with animals among so so many. Take a few minutes to watch the video below on the current situation with these Cheetah cubs and hopefully deter some people from wanting to go down this route. Get yourself a damn house cat folks.

If you would like to do something more than share this article, you can contact and get involved with the great people over at the Cheetah Conservation Fund via https://cheetah.org/