Lille, France: The man suspected of owning a black panther, which was rescued from rooftops near the northern French city of Lille two weeks ago and later stolen from a zoo, was questioned by police on Tuesday, legal sources said.
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The young animal, thought to be around six months old and weighing 25-30 kilogrammes, had roamed free on September 19 after escaping through the window of a private apartment.
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The ink-black feline was tranquilised with a dart and taken away in a cage.
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The man is suspected of having illegally acquired the big cat, a protected species, and to have cut off its claws, according to the prosecutor’s office in the city of Lille.
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He is also suspected of illegally running a business exploiting a “non-domestic” animal or parts of it, the office said.
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It said it was too early to consider the possibility of animal trafficking charges.
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Last month, images of the black panther were plastered across newspaper front pages after it was rescued from rooftops only to be stolen from a zoo in Maubeuge near the Belgian border.
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Mauberge mayor Arnaud Decagny told AFP at the time that “considerable efforts” had been made to force locks and avoid security systems.
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Police had been looking for the suspect but he handed himself in on the advice of his lawyer, one of the sources said.
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Zoo personnel were worried about the young panther’s health, “which is rather delicate because he lacks strength,” the mayor added.
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The panther will be transferred to a centre specialised in rehabilitating wild animals that have been domesticated.
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