A man has detained in Shanghai because of his “pet cat.”
The man, surnamed Tang, had paid 50,000 yuan ($7,000) to buy a caracal because of its “good-looking appearance.”
Caracals are medium-sized wild cats native to Africa and Asia with distinctive tufted ears and long canine teeth. They are a second-class nationally-protected animal in China.
Tang’s caracal ownership was easily sussed out because he had created a social media channel to upload videos of the animal.
The channel had garnered nearly 30,000 followers.
He has been detained for illegally acquiring precious and endangered wildlife. It’s unclear what sort of punishment he will face.