I doubt if the people who have purchased cheetah cubs realize that only about one in four smuggled cubs survive the journey or that the mother was more than likely killed to get the cubs. Given how difficult cheetahs are to breed in captivity, the only way to fulfill the demand for cheetah cubs for the pet trade is through poaching of wild animals. The cheetah is listed as a threatened species, and the wild population cannot sustain these losses.

“Despite, or perhaps due in part to, their threatened status, cheetahs are still considered a prestigious possession in certain parts of the world.