Smuggled Cheetah Stopped At UK Airport

At an airport in the UK, animals pass through from time to time.
Recently, a cheetah from Africa on his way to Russia was stopped because of a missing identity marker.
When he was found to be without a microchip, meaning he was possibly illegal, he was detained.
We’re glad they caught the error, it could have been a simple mistake… or even smugglers!
Then who knows where that cheetah would’ve ended up?
Cheetahs should be free to run the African plains or at least be protected from poachers on a large reservation, not kept as pets or in small zoos.