DUBAI // More than 100 cats and dogs, most of which are in need of medical treatment, are to be seized from a villa in Mirdif next week after an animal welfare charity secured a court order to take the animals.
German Petra Mueller, 64, has been living in a four-bedroom house with 150 cats and nine dogs for the past three years.
“Everybody knows that I had the Arabian Mau discovered and for this reason, for this study, I have many cats,” she said. “I know I have more cats [than I should].”
In 2008, the Arabian Mau was recognised as a distinct breed.
Ms Mueller contributed to that achievement after breeding the animals for six generations to ensure that features thought to be specific to the breed remained unaltered.
Ms Mueller, who has lived in Dubai for 24 years, has 50 cats from the study and 100 given to her by concerned residents.
“I don’t take cats in, people give them to me,” she said. “If they found a cat on the [street] they say, ‘Petra, please, we don’t know what to do, and the vet wants to put it down’,” she said.
She tried to provide treatment required and a temporary home until they were permanently adopted.
“I’m an environmental consultant for air, water and soil pollution,” she said. “This how I earn my money, and the cats are my love. Some people say [I] am crazy. Yes, I am. I don’t party, I don’t buy jewels.”
The Middle East Animal Foundation (MEAF) pursued a court order to seize the animals on the grounds of concern for their welfare.
Ms Mueller and MEAF co-founder Mahin Bahrami said the move to take the animals was an amicable one.
“I am very happy to get help for rehoming the cats and for treatment,” said Ms Mueller.
“[MEAF] wanted a court order because they did not know how I would react but we are friends.
“Whatever is in the interest of the cats.”
Ms Mueller repeated that her aim was not to collect cats.
Ms Bahrami said the foundation was happy to help house and treat the cats.
“Most of these animals are sick and we hope this situation sheds light on the fact that there needs to be stricter laws on housing animals,” she said.
“There needs to be more regulation on the number of animals that are kept indoors and there needs to be regular inspection in the animal welfare community.”
The smell in the villa was overwhelming, and as a safety precaution, all personnel were required to wear shoe covers.
In almost every corner, there was a cat either grooming, sleeping or eating.
On Wednesday, MEAF noted down the animals that need to removed, while an officer from Dubai Municipality and another from Dubai Police, supervised the situation in line with the court order.
Meanwhile, Dr Dieter Malleczek, owner of Blue Oasis Veterinary Clinic, said he had warned Ms Mueller in 2009 about not taking in too many animals, adding that he ended his service after non payment of more than Dh4,000.
“She owes Dh4,394.80 after a multi-pet discount, and she never paid one fils,” he said.
“She also did not listen to [my] advice when she was still residing in a previous villa in Umm Suqeim, where she had to leave after neighbours complained.”
Ms Mueller admitted that she had outstanding vet bills and said she took it upon herself to treat the animals but could not always afford to do so.
“People should know that I take the animals to the vet then I have to pay the bill but I already pay so much for food and to the guys who are cleaning, and sometimes I don’t have enough money,” she said. “If people can [donate] money to the clinics, I am more than happy.”
Anyone wishing to help can contact MEAF by sending an email to contact@me-af.org.
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”