Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Tiger Truck Stop trouble
Posted by Kevin Allman on Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 6:15 PM
Remember the huge brouhaha about Tony, the live tiger at the Tiger Truck Stop just west of Baton Rouge on I-10? (Read all about it here.) True Blood actress Kristin Bauer explains the animal-rights position in this video:
Well, Tony and his owner, Michael Sandlin, are back in the news with a lawsuit that's been filed by the Portland, Ore.-based Animal Legal Defense Fund, which is citing a 1993 law enacted in Iberville Parish. Read all about it:
On April 11, 2011, ALDF filed a lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and its secretary Robert Barham, arguing that he violated state law in granting a permit allowing Sandlin to exhibit Tony at the Tiger Truck Stop. Joining ALDF as a co-plaintiff in the case is former Louisiana Representative Warren Triche, who authored the state’s law which led to the ban on the private ownership of tigers. Two other Louisiana residents, also deeply concerned by Tony’s long-time suffering, are additional co-plaintiffs.At the heart of ALDF’s position is the fact that Sandlin’s current housing of Tony violates state and local laws. In 2006, the Louisiana state legislature unanimously passed Act 715, which required LDWF to control the private ownership of big cats. The department enacted regulations prohibiting citizens from keeping a tiger as a pet or exhibiting a tiger in the state. In passing these regulations, the department rightly declared that possession of big cats and certain other exotic animals poses significant hazards to public safety and health and is detrimental to the welfare of the animals.
The regulations provided an exception, however: individuals who legally owned big cats as of August 15, 2006, were grandfathered in. These owners would need to apply for an annual permit from the LDWF. An ordinance passed in Sandlin’s parish of Iberville in 1993 made it illegal for anyone to keep a tiger or other large exotic cat on his or her premises for exhibition. In other words, Sandlin did not qualify for the exception because he was not in legal possession of Tony.
Sandlin didn't return calls from The Advocate in Baton Rouge.
Comments (12)
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TONY THE TIGER SHOULD BE REMOVED...THE USDA WAS OUT THERE ON JANUARY 11TH, AND FOUND HIM UNDERWEIGHT. SANDLIN AND ALL HIS FRIENDS KEEP WHINING ABOUT TONY THE TIGER BEING FAMILY...REALLY...SO YOU STARVE YOUR FAMILY. WAKE UP LOUISIANA, THERE ARE OVER 25,000 PEOPLE OR MORE THAT WONT HIM REMOVED. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, EVOLVE, GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT AND STOP SUPPORTING ANIMAL CRUELTY...IF YOU THINK THE TRUCK STOP IS SO WONDERFUL YOU GO SLEEP THERE FOR ELEVEN YEARS. WAKE THE HELL UP LOUISIANA AND EVOLVE ALREADY. AND IF YOUR CHURCH GOING FOLK, I HIGHLY DOUBT THIS IS WHAT YOUR GOD WOULD APPROVE OF EH???
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if you have not seen recent pictures of Tony the Tiger, they are not the picture of health....he does not weigh anywhere near the weight of a healthy Tiger. Please do some research before you have the courage to stand up for Michael Sandlin. He really needs to do the right thing and send Tony the an accredited big cat sanctuary and let him retire. Stop abusing poor Tony already, how you can go to church and think your a christian is beyond me.
Why can't the do-gooders mind their own business. It's funny now that NOLA is coming back the do-gooders are out in force. Is this what the free spirited people of Louisiana really want? I seriously doubt it.
Roux....you typical redneck...The "do-gooders" have been trying to free Tony for 11 years....Long before NOLA "came back."
Roux, there are over 25, 000 plus if not many more do gooders at this point you are in the dark, stay up on current events. withouth people that give a damn about animals and victims this planet would be crap while you walk around with your head up your can. TONY IS NEGLECTED, PERIOD END OF STORY. OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO THE ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND IS DO YOU. OH AND BY THE WAY, LOOK UP THE WORD COMPASSION AND HAVE SOME CONSIDERATION FOR TONY THE TIGER, HIS LIFE IS NOT HOW A TIGER SHOULD LIVE ALL BECAUSE SOME MAN DECIDES HE WANTS TO USE TONY AS A GREED MACHINE!!! LOUISIANA NEEDS TO EVOLVE ALREADY, THE ANIMALS ARE NOT HERE FOR YOUR USE.....WAKE UP.
In all of the pictures and videos Tony looks ill and depressed. My young children even see it. "We" speak out for Tony because it needs to be done if you have a humane hair on your head you should see this. Enough is enough let Tony go to one of the waiting well equipped sanctuaries. If Tony dies living this life of neglect I as a human do not see how anyone that allowed this to happen can live with themselves. Not to mention all the corruption.
“Humanity’s true moral test, its fundamental test, consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals. And in this respect humankind has suffered a fundamental debacle, a debacle so fundamental that all others stem from it.” — Milan Kundera
Please free Tony... For his sake and for our long overdue evolution to true "civilization".
well we know what his owners will be doing in hell when they die... hope they like cages...
Tony is in bad shape, that's for sure. He really needs to be in a better habitat--that's been true for years. But where will he go? I imagine some group will step forward to give him a place where his last years can be pleasant, and he can live like an animal instead of a statue.
It's peculiar that all the LSU fans in the state haven't insisted on humane treatment for Tony, huh?
One day some of you are going to wish the "do-gooders" were on your side. ;-)
Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon thing in many states. We are an animal preserve in Naples, Florida (http://www.kowia.com) and we take in cats such as Tony. Many other rescues/preserves exist that would take Tony in.
For those of you who feel strongly on this issue, your help is needed in several aspects :
changing the laws -- use your voice.
supporting rescues/preserves - until these laws can be changed
Most preserves/rescues, like us, are 501(c)(3)non-profit organizations. So I encourage you to reach out and support organizations that will take these animals in and give them adequate care. They can only do as much as they have resources to do.
The costs involved in housing, feeding, and vet care of a big cat are not small. Some rescues have as many as 200 cats, and although the habitats are "adequate", they are still far from an ideal. So there is great need, even when a cat is placed in a new home.
Tony is an amazingly beautiful animal that deserves better.
In regards to the Siberian Tiger in the wild, there is also great need. Help protect and keep the Siberian Tiger from going extinct by supporting organizations like the Worldwide Wildlife Fund who work towards a solution. http://www.worldwildlife.org
