Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - It’s common knowledge that cats are not big fans of car trips.

However, one lion seemed to not mind the journey, as footage recently uploaded on video-sharing website Youtube shows.

The nine-second clip, which was uploaded on video sharing site Youtube on Wednesday, shows an adult lion calmly pacing in the back of a Nissan 4x4 and then sitting down, while the car waits in traffic.

Dubai’s main highway Sheikh Zayed Road is clearly visible in the background.

The video has become widely shared on online social networks.

“Irresponsible, dangerous & just plain stupid,” one user of social networking site Twitter called the lion’s owner.

“So So So wrong!” wrote another.

Although the importing and dealing of wild animals in the UAE is illegal, exotic species such as tigers and cheetahs are sometimes sighted in hands of private owners.

Stuffed or not

In 2012, a popular photo of a tiger hanging out of the window of a car caused a stir on social networks, causing controversy on social networks over whether it was just a stuffed toy.
And in a similar incident in 2010, a cheetah was sighted swimming near a port in the adjacent Emirate of Sharjah.

The animal, which had at first been mistaken for a dog, drew large crowds as it walked slowly onto land and stood next to a nearby mosque before being captured by police.

The UAE’s Ministry of Environment and Water Resources has warned those involved in the illegal trade of wild animals in the country will be punished with fines and imprisonment.

Under the ministry’s rules, only licensed breeding centers are permitted to import such animals.

However, UAE-based internet classified sites frequently list exotic animals such as lion cubs, cheetahs, tigers and chimpanzees for sale.

*Alarabiya