Moskovsky Komsomolets: “Putin’s leopards still waiting for customs clearance”
Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources is still trying to get customs clearance for two Caucasian/Persian leopards delivered by air from Turkmenistan. The cats have been living in Russia's first leopard breeding and rehabilitation centre for nearly six months now.
This newspaper reported that in mid-September, Mr. Putin let the two leopards, called Alous and General, out of a cage into a larger open-air cage. Since then, specialists have been monitoring their behaviour.
Customs has still not received the documents specifying the cost of the animals and therefore cannot clear their entry into Russia, because a duty must be paid on imported animals.
The price is usually tentative as in some cases it is impossible to determine the true value of the "cargo." The two Persian leopards are a recent example. Still, the customs agencies requested that the Natural Resources Ministry provide papers specifying the cost of the cats delivered from Turkmenistan.
Ministry officials said that nobody can determine the real value of the leopards and that they were a present from Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov. But customs is stubbornly demanding the papers.
Happily, this chaos has not affected the life and wellbeing of the leopards in question.
