911 Animal Abuse

21 Search Results for "liger"

• Ligers and Tigons-learn the tr Ligers and Tigons-learn the truth

  • From: 11233455987
  • Description:

    Ligers and Tigons

     

    A liger is the result of breeding a male lion to a tigress.Since lions and tigers do NOT exist in the same areas,

    this is NOT something that happens in the wild.It is ALWAYS done in captivity by irresponsible breeders

    to produce a freak animal that people will pay to see.These cats suffer from many, many birth defects and almost always die young.Because liger cubs are much bigger than tiger cubs, it puts the mother tigress at great risk in carrying the young and she may require C-section deliveries.  The tigress usually dies giving birth to a liger.Lion-tiger mating ONLY occurs in captivity, but it does NOT happen in the wild, probably for the same reason humans do not breedwith gorillas or chimps. Crossing the species line does NOT occur in the wild, because it would result in diminished fitness of the offspring. Geography is another obstacle to natural tiger-lion mating.Wild tigers mainly live in Asia, but the lion's natural habitat is almost entirely in Africa.

    The Gir National Forest in India is the only place in the world where tiger and lion territories overlap, making people think that wild ligers roamed the area hundreds of years ago. This would be highly improbable, because the Gir forest is really very dry and not good tiger habitat. A tigon is the product of a male tiger and female lion and is not the same thing as a liger. Tigons receive growth inhibitor genes from both parents and so are smaller than either of them. They show much the same coloration of ligers except they sometimes have more prominent stripes. As with ligers, female tigons may be fertile whereas the males are sterile. Tigons have the same voices as liger, a sort of cross between tiger and lion. Tigons are now rarer than ligers, but in the late 1800's and early 1800s tigons were much more common.When the public stops paying to see these unfortunate creatures, the evil people (like "Doc" Antle) responsible for creating them will stop this inhumane practice. Please ask me for non- photoshopped liger photos and I will figure out a way to get them to you without giving away my email or other info.

     

     

     

     

  • Blog post
  • 7 months ago
  • Views: 528

• Liger in Green Cage 1 Liger in Green Cage 1

  • From: 11233455987
  • Description:
    A real, not photoshopped liger.
  • 7 months ago
  • Views: 196
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• 11233455987

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  • Since: 7 months ago

• Don't Forward These Pictures Don't Forward These Pictures

  • From: PatCuvie
  • Description:
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    At some point - from someone - you will probably receive the email at the bottom of this message.  Or, you may receive a clip of TV reporters swimming with tigers, or a chimp "raising" white tiger cubs, or even adorable photos of cross-species friends like an orangutan befriending a dog.  These all come from the same organization – T.I.G.E.R.S. – and it's a marketing ploy they use to bring money and business from unsuspecting customers. 

     

    Please don't become an accomplice to animal abuse of the worst magnitude.

    Whenever you receive an email concerning the organization

    T.I.G.E.R.S. (Institute of Greatly Endangered Rare Species), based in Myrtle Beach and Florida,

    DO NOT FORWARD IT

    This can be one small way you can help save 100's of abused big cats.

     

    Doc Antle, a/k/a Dr Bhagavan Antle, the proprietor of T.I.G.E.R.S., supposedly received his "credentials" in China.  He has said that he needs a supply of 200 tiger cubs per year just to fulfill all of his global photo ops and animal encounters at fairs, malls, and other exhibits. 

     

    Please ask yourself, where do all these cubs end up once they are fully grown?

     

    Doc Antle is a major supplier/consumer in the exotic animal trade.  If you abhor puppy mills, you can only imagine the major abuse that takes place in the loosely regulated business of big cat exhibition. His breeding of an unnatural species, a liger (the mating of a lion and tiger), as a profit center is the ultimate statement of abuse, though.  A liger is a manmade species that suffers tragically.  To learn more about ligers, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKYILLEdy5s  The last line in the email says it all when they refer to Hercules, the liger, as "this thing."

     

    YOU CAN STOP THIS ABUSE

     

    Refuse to forward these emails.

    Instead, save and pass this email along to educate those who have no idea

    the suffering behind what appears to be

    "adorable" animal pictures.

     

    Thank you for refusing to be a party to this sham.

     

  • Blog post
  • 11 months ago
  • Views: 367

• Doc Antle Liger Doc Antle Liger

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:

    Wild animals should be protected in the wild and not bred for life in cages. Stupid women are often drawn in by owners of big cats to do his bidding. Find out why this is so abusive at http://www.bigcatrescue.org/000news/0articlesbybcr/2008DyingToBeHeld.htm

  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 235
  • Not yet rated

• Doc Antle Liger Doc Antle Liger

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:

    Wild animals should be protected in the wild and not bred for life in cages. Stupid women are often drawn in by owners of big cats to do his bidding. Find out why this is so abusive at http://www.bigcatrescue.org/000news/0articlesbybcr/2008DyingToBeHeld.htm

  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 170
  • Not yet rated

• Doc Antle Liger Doc Antle Liger

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:

    Wild animals should be protected in the wild and not bred for life in cages. Stupid women are often drawn in by owners of big cats to do his bidding. Find out why this is so abusive at http://www.bigcatrescue.org/000news/0articlesbybcr/2008DyingToBeHeld.htm

  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 125
  • Not yet rated

• Doc Antle Liger Doc Antle Liger

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:

    Wild animals should be protected in the wild and not bred for life in cages. Stupid women are often drawn in by owners of big cats to do his bidding. Find out why this is so abusive at http://www.bigcatrescue.org/000news/0articlesbybcr/2008DyingToBeHeld.htm

  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 119
  • Not yet rated

• Doc Antle Liger Doc Antle Liger

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:

    Wild animals should be protected in the wild and not bred for life in cages. Stupid women are often drawn in by owners of big cats to do his bidding. Find out why this is so abusive at http://www.bigcatrescue.org/000news/0articlesbybcr/2008DyingToBeHeld.htm

  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 83
  • Not yet rated

• Big Cat Attacks 2008 Big Cat Attacks 2008

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:

    December 26, 2008 Mexico City, Mexico:  Lions and tigers were confiscated during drug raid.  A gardener detained along with more than a dozen members of an alleged drug trafficking ring testified that police threatened him to feed him to lions and tigers during a raid at a Mexico City mansion. The gardener, Fernando Maya, testified that police dragged him to cages with lions and tigers and threatened to throw him inside. "They kept saying, where is he? And that they were going to throw me to the lions, they were going to throw me to the tigers, which had not eaten."  Eleven Colombians, a U.S. citizen, two Mexicans an Uruguayan were detained in the raid. Prosecutors said the gang allegedly arranged for cocaine shipments from Colombia to Mexico's Beltran Levya cartel.
    
    December 9, 2008 Albion, IN: Noble County 911 Director Mitch Fiandt said an18-year-old female tiger escaped from the Black Pine Animal Park.  Park officials say the tiger returned to the property 8 hours later and was back in its enclosure about an hour after that.  An Albion firefighter alerted authorities after spotting the tiger on his property.  Authorities shot the tiger with a tranquilizer, but were not immediately able to capture it.
    
    December 8, 2008 Hamilton TWP, NJ:  Santa Claus bit by pet bobcat in Petsmart.  Scratches and bites cover the hand and arm of Jonathan Bebbington, after being mauled by a pet bobcat who was brought to Petsmart for a photo session.  Bebbington says, "It hurt, it had a lot of power in its jaws."  He struggled to control the cat for nearly 5 minutes while it bit him repeatedly. "He locked on here, grabbed the skin," he says as he points to his left hand. The cat's owner left after the incident without providing her name, though she did tell volunteers with Penny Angel's Beagle Rescue, which ran the event, that she had it shipped from Wyoming for $1,500. It is illegal to own a bobcat in New Jersey and allegedly this owner was keeping hers tethered in yard. There have been other cases of bobcats in South Jersey, including Mr. Peepers at the Cape May County Park Zoo, which was rescued from Bridgeton. Anyone with information about the bobcat or its owner should call the Atlantic County Division of Public Health at (609) 645 5931.
    
    December 6, 2008 Wisconsin Dells, WI: Alan Borud was greeted by a 50 lb Siberian Lynx in his yard.  Borud watched as the cat came up on the porch, stood on its hind legs, at which point it was about chest high to Borud, and looked in the window. He called DNR who took the cat to a local humane society.  Big Cat Rescue called the authorities and offered a home to the cat, but Derick Duane of the McKenzie Wildlife Center said the owner was coming to retrieve her. They have had issues with this owner before, and have taken our name as a placement option if the owner cannot keep the Siberian Lynx contained. An anonymous tipster said the owner bought this cat and her mate in MO and then raised them as pets. When the cats reached about a year of age, the male began attacking the husband and son in the family and both the male and female were said to have been turned loose on purpose. No one has caught the male, and the owner denies that there ever was a male cat and denies that he turned this female loose.
    
    December 1, 2008 Cass, WVa:  Davide Cassell killed his pet tiger today said Hoy Murphy, spokesman for the state Division of Natural Resources.  Murphy said the snowmaking crew at Snowshoe Mountain Resort saw the big cat on Monday morning.  Cassell, who works at Mountain Lodge on Snowshoe Mountain, was trying to find the animal and tranquilize it, but ended up killing the cat instead.  Cassell had a permit for the animal.  In May 2006, an Asian brown bear owned by Cassell escaped and the 400-pound bear was not seen again.
    
    November 27, 2008 Kansas City, KS:  An exotic African cat (a Serval) roaming a Kansas City neighborhood has been shot and killed by police. Residents worried the cat was dangerous to children. But efforts to trap it over several weeks were unsuccessful, and an officer shot it Thursday with a patrol rifle.  Police think the cat was dumped or had escaped from people who were keeping it as a pet. The identity of the owners is not known.
    
    November 26, 2008 Harrisburg, PA:  A Chester County farm caretaker says he thought he was shooting a bobcat in the chicken coop -- then his heart sank when he saw it had a collar.  The animal he killed was a Serval cat that someone was keeping as a pet.  Heim says once he realized he'd shot a pet, he was sad for the animal -- and angry at its owner for allowing it to be out.
    
    November 19, 2008 Columbus, GA:  Wildlife officials say a cougar killed at West Point Lake was an illegal pet.  The 140-pound, 88-inch cat was shot by deer hunter David Adams of Newnan on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land near the Georgia-Alabama border.  Officials said the cat had not been living on wild game and had callouses indicative of living on concrete her whole life.
    
    November 17, 2008 Miami, FL: A 16-year-old girl mauled by a 150-pound cougar required more than two hours of surgery to repair a large gash in the back of her neck suffered when the animal clenched its powerful jaws around her head. "It's really a miracle that she's alive," said a family spokesman. Because the male cougar, named Chaos, was declawed, the girl did not suffer scratches to her face or body.  Saturday's attack was witnessed by the girl's mother, who had brought her daughter to work cleaning out cages at a private wild animal sanctuary in a North Miami-Dade home to earn community service hours required to graduate from high school. The cougar lunged at the teen in the yard of the home of Alan Rigerman who keeps the animals at his home in the 17900 block of Northwest 84th Avenue.  Rigerman owns a second cougar, snakes, tortoises and alligators. The girl and her mother had been brought to the home by Anthony Zitnick, 21, who after the attack was arrested on a charge of burglary of an occupied dwelling. Rigerman told The Miami Herald that Zitnick entered the property with a key he had given him after Hurricane Wilma in 2005, but that Zitnick only helped with the animals while under Rigerman's "supervision."  Zitnick casually knew the girl's mother and had asked her if any of her children would be interested in the nonpaying job.  The girl and her mother had no idea Mr. Zitnick did not belong on the premises, which they entered with a key.
    
    Chaos got agitated, suddenly lurched and pinned the girl, and put his mouth around her head. A neighbor who heard the girl's screams jumped over the fence and helped free her from Chaos' jaws by punching the animal in the face. At the time of Saturday's attack, Rigerman was out of town at a reptile show in Tampa. Rigerman often attends public meetings of Florida's Wildlife Conservation Commission praising them for their lax regulations and enforcement and opposing new rules that would curb his behavior.  He has publicly threatened other attendees who favor tougher regulations.
    
    November 16, 2008 Luray, VA:  A 15 year old keeper lost her finger to a 5 year old tiger named Star at the Luray Zoo located at 1087 US Hwy 211 West, in Luray, Virginia 22835 owned by Mark Kilby and Jennifer Westhoff.  She was showing off and petting the cat in front of visitors at the time.  The Page County Sheriff's Office says the girl's finger was amputated as result of a tiger bite. The private zoo's web page is covered in pictures of people petting exotic cats and behaving recklessly.  The Luray Zoo has frequently employed people as young as 14, said Kilby. It is a violation of VA's Dept. of Labor laws that teens under 18 work in any "occupation that exposes them to a recognized hazard capable of causing serious physical injury or death."  Kilby declined to discuss whether the zoo carries insurance for such attacks.  Besides the tiger, the zoo's 37 mammals include five other breeds of what Kilby terms "big cats" - two lynxes, one serval and one bobcat.
    
    November 14, 2008 Camperdown, So. Africa:  12 lions escaped the Lion Park after a storm downed the fences.  Ten lions have been recaptured and are being kept in cages, while two others are still roving about the reserve.  "Two lions were found at the front gate [of the park] and this was when we first became aware that the others might have escaped," Boswell said.  A search party of about 20 Lion Park staff members, a helicopter pilot and a district official from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (EKZNW) conservation authority searched for the remaining 10 lions throughout the morning.  The police and the EKZNW officials were notified, but were asked NOT to alert the public of the potential danger lurking in the tall grass.  Boswell said that the park did not want to involve the public because they did not wish to cause public panic.
    
    November 13, 2008 Singapore:  Three white tigers mauled Nordin Bin Montong, 32, a Malaysian working as a cleaner at the zoo, to death after the man jumped into their enclosure. "Keepers managed to separate the worker from the tiger. While waiting for the ambulance, our vets attended to him," said Guha. "The worker
    tragically succumbed to his wound." Nordin was seen behaving in an agitated manner before he fell into the moat. Terrified visitors near the section watched the vicious attack in horror and screamed, the paper said. Aziz Ansari, 16, a student, filmed the initial part of the horrific attack with his handphone. The video clip showed Mr Nordin's desperate fight to save himself, first by trying to get up and back into the moat, then by kicking one of the two tigers.
    
    November 11, 2008 Mexico City, Mexico:  A tiger escaped from an unlocked cage at a commercial zoo and fatally mauled its caretaker before it was captured and killed.  State officials said that Bioparque Estrella had closed Monday when the tiger escaped his unlocked cage and fatally attacked 26-year-old Herminio Rodriguez Palma.  Some 150 police officers and zoo veterinarians began an intense search for the tiger at the 740-acre wild animal park in the countryside northwest of Mexico City. Mexico has had problems with dangerous animals escaping from their caretakers recently.  In September, a five-ton elephant got away from his trainer at a circus, wandered onto a highway outside Mexico City and was fatally hit by a bus. The bus driver also was killed.  Three tigers escaped from a circus truck and took shelter in a house in western Mexico last week and in August, a 500-pound lion escaped from a local lawmaker's private zoo in southern Mexico, killing two dogs and a pig and attacking a woman and child on a donkey before it was sedated and captured.
    
    November 11, 2008 Maddaloni, Italy: A 700lb Siberian tiger which can grow to 12 feet long prowled the streets of Maddaloni, southern Italy, for more than five hours after escaping the circus.
    
    November 9, 2008 Junsele, Sweden: A keeper was mauled by a white tiger at the zoo.  The keeper, who has worked with the zoo's tigers for 16 years, was trapped in a cage with the big cat unti the zoo's owner, Ulf Henriksson lured the tiger away with a piece of meat so rescue workers could get the man out of the cage and into an ambulance.  The keeper was bitten in the foot and the shoulder and would be hospitalized for a couple of days to ensure against infection from the wounds, Henriksson said, noting the tiger saw the keeper more as a playmate than a threat.
    
    November 8, 2008 Anchorage, AK:  In the past week, three reports of the cat wandering near Fort Richardson and Point Woronzof, some 10 miles apart, have reached Rick Sinnott, Anchorage-area wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The cat's reported spots and size appear to describe the serval, an African wildcat sometimes kept as a "designer" pet, he said.  Possessing such an animal is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine, he said.
    
    November 5, 2008 Mexico City, Mexico: A family in Mexico was in shock after finding a tiger, which had escaped from a circus, lying on their patio, police said. The tiger terrified the town of Zitacuaro, in western Michoacan state, as it wandered the streets for an hour and a half before entering a house.  The tiger "went through the house and lay down on the patio," the officer said. "The family was terrified and they hid." A total of three tigers escaped from their circus cages when the doors were left open the day before.
    
    November 3, 2008 Ratchaburi:  A male Bengal tiger has been on the loose in Ratchaburi since Thursday, when it escaped from its cage at a wildlife research station after attacking a keeper.  The tiger, named Silathong, attacked Bunma Thongkerd, at the Khaoson wildlife research centre as he opened the cage for cleaning. Mr Bunma was mauled but survived. The tiger slipped out of the cage and ran off.
    
    October 29, 2008 Broken Arrow, OK:  Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary is home to 27 big cats. Former keepers have warned for years that the practices there of allowing contact with adult tigers would lead to injuries, escapes and death. SIAS' website is covered in the typically ignorant photos of the President, Lori Ensign Scroggins (ex-wife of Joe Estes who runs Safari Joe's) bottle feeding tigers and walking them on leashes. That kind of irresponsible behavior can only lead to tragedy for humans as well as the animals when they pay the ultimate price. Now the liger named Rocky may be killed for mauling to death a volunteer named Peter Getz who walked in the cage while feeding the cat a deer carcass.  The mauling happened in the presence of more than 40 pre schoolers who were ushered away from the scene.
    
    October 29, 2008 Winston, OR:  Two cheetahs headed for the Memphis Zoo aboard a Delta flight made a stop at the Atlanta airport where it was discovered one of them had gotten free in the plane. The cheetahs are one-year-old sisters from Wildlife Safari Park in Winston, Oregon.
    
    October 29, 2008Cambridgeshire U.K.:Hamerton Zoo offers 'Face to Face with a Cheetah' sessions but today the face to face happened with a little boy after the Cheetah escaped the zoo.  The 6ft long animal was just 15 feet from 9 year oldToby when he spotted it. Toby dropped the bicycle he had been playing with and fled. As he reached the house the three-year-old, 66lb cheetah named Akea bit chunks out of the saddle and ripped the tires with his claws. Toby has since had nightmares over the incident. He said: "I panicked. It looked massive and really scary. I thought it would attack me. I ran as fast as I could."
    
    October 28, 2008 Latham, NY: Many attacks and escapes go unreported as those who deal in exotics do not want the bad press, but they can't help but brag about it on what they think are private chat groups.  This was posted on Phoenix Exotics by a breeder of Savannah cats:  "Hell I got seriously bitten by a serval and I went to the ER and said I fell out of a tree and landed on barbed wire..." signed Deborah-Ann Milette, The home of the best known Savannah"MOTZIE"  In 2005 USDA fined her and revoked her license 21-C-0218 for because she allegedly drugged and killed a tiger cub among other things.  See 911AnimalAbuse.com for more.
    
    October 28, 2008 Berlin, Germany:  Rescue workers saved six tigers from a blazing 43-foot wagon by turning them loose on the highway.  One tiger appeared to have suffered some smoke inhalation, but the other five were in good condition, owner Daniel Renz said.  Renz said his show would go on, as planned on October 30, but the six tigers involved in Monday's blaze -- Queeni, Aschima, Lena, Sonja, Sibi and Goldi -- will be given a break and some of the circus' seven other tigers will perform in their place.  The suspected cause was an overheated suspension system on the truck, said Renz.
    
    October 14, 2008 Johannesbrg, So. Africa:  Nelson Silaigwana of Three Streams Farm in Mangwe was found mauled to death by escaped lions.  Two weeks ago, the eight-year-old daughter of a farmer was mauled by a lion and a lioness her father kept caged.  Courtney Sparrow, who suffered a hole in her throat and serious injuries to her arms, face and head, underwent ten hours of surgery in Milpark Hospital, Johannesburg.  Her father, Ron Sparrow, said he used the lions to deter attackers, but two lions broke through a weak window and the lioness attacked Courtney. A domestic worker was injured when she tried to rip Courtney from the lioness's grip.
    
    October 13, 2008 Fallon, NV:  A volunteer named Emmie was invited to pet the big cats at Tiger Touch owned by John and Barbara Williamson.  She was petting a cougar named Kicky when the cat latched onto her palm and tried to drag her into the cage.  See photos of the injury and read more about the mauling HERE.
    
    October 4, 2008 Palm City, FL: A 50 lb, declawed Siberian Lynx disappeared from 3560 SW Wood Creek Trail at about 4:30 a.m., shortly after owner Tina Love fed her on the screened patio.  "She's not the type to walk around," Love said. "But I thought she might have just wandered off."  The property was unfenced. Love bought Simba from a breeder in Wisconsin for $2,500 after she gave away her bobcat because it was too wild. The Siberian Lynx was found again a couple weeks later, a mile and a half away, hanging out in a children's playground.  She was confiscated by authorities as the owner did not have current permits and lacked appropriate caging.  Often Big Cat Rescue has to turn away cats, from irresponsible owners who are trying to dump them, because the owners refuse to sign a contract stating that they will never again fuel the exotic pet trade.
    
    September 16, 2008 Gaveston, TX:  Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough said Tuesday that a tiger is out of its enclosure from an exotic pets center. The news follows reports of a lion holed up in a Baptist church with its owner on Bolivar Peninsula.  Yarbrough said, "I understand he's hungry ... so we're staying away from him."  Hurricane Ike made landfall Sept. 13 but a week later, the tiger still had not been found.   The lioness and her owner were waist deep in water in the church along with several people who had fled there for shelter.  "They worked pretty well together, actually," said the lion's owner, Michael Ray Kujawa. "When you have to swim, the lion doesn't care about eating nobody."
    
    August 20 Reno, NV: Washoe County Regional Animal Services originally responded to a call about a large black dog on the roof of a home in the valley east of Washoe Lake.  When they got there, they found not a dog, but two black leopards on the roof.   State Wildlife Department spokesman Edwin Lyngar says the cats are exotic pets that escaped from the home of their owner Andy Kay who could not be reached for comment at telephone numbers associated with the West Coyote Drive address or the Ann Road address.  Washoe County Assessor's Office records indicate the Washoe Valley property is owned by Coyote Irrevocable Trust and that Kay is a trustee.  In March two black leopards were fired on by the police after allegedly mauling a puppy 200 yards from their home.  Those cats were never found and are suspected to be the same as these found on a rooftop.  Regional Animal Services Center Director Cindy Sabatoni said two Siberian tigers were found in Washoe County two years ago and a bobcat was found last year in Stead.  The problem in NV is so prevalent that the tigers never even made the news.
    
    August 19, 2008 West Palm Beach, FL: Authorities found and sedated a missing tiger from McCarthy's Wildlife Center. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the adult lion and tiger escaped and were loose overnight at McCarthy's Wildlife Sanctuary (a breeding compound and not a true sanctuary) about 20 miles northwest of West Palm Beach. Three schools, Golden Grove Elementary, Acreage Pines Elementary and Western Pines Middle, were on lock-down until the tiger was found and sedated at 11:00 am the next day. Authorities say they don't know how the big cats escaped.  A person who answered the telephone at the sanctuary on Wednesday said they couldn't comment and abruptly hung up.  Marc McCarthy houses 22 big cats on what appears in aerial maps to be about 8 lots in a subdivision.  In May, McCarthy was rushed to the hospital after being bitten on the leg by one of his tigers, Sabi, on the set of a rap video being filmed in Miami.
    
    August 5, 2008  Richmond Township, IL:  Larry Dean said he was practicing a circus act at the Hawthorn Corporation farm near Richmond when the tiger suddenly became aggressive and grabbed him with its mouth. "He had numerous scratch marks and bite marks," said Richmond Township Fire Chief Rick Gallas. "I would say that was a mauling... he was pretty bloody." Gallas said workers told paramedics they had to beat the tiger with baseball bats to get it to release Dean. Gallas said Dean told paramedics it was the second time a tiger had attacked him at the farm, but Dean declined to comment when asked about that on Thursday and Hawthorn's owner, John Cuneo says Dean should not have been near the tigers.  Hawthorn owns about 50 tigers but only about 30 of the animals are at the farm, Cuneo said. Others are performing at circuses around the world, Cuneo said.  In 2003 the U.S. Department of Agriculture accused Hawthorn of failing to care for its elephants properly. But in 2004 he agreed to give away his elephants in exchange for keeping his circus tigers.  Cuneo has tried to get rid of his tigers when they won't perform by asking Big Cat Rescue to take them, but Big Cat Rescue does not enable bad behaviour.  Cuneo's Sarasota neighbors are concerned that he plans to move his tigers to their neighborhood as he has purchased 5 acres of beach front there and asked for permits to install n 8 foot high wall.  FL law requires 5 ac and an 8' fence for people to keep tigers in their back yard. 
    
    August 4, 2008 Branson, MO:  A 16-year-old boy named Dakoda Ramel is in the hospital after an attack at the Interactive Zoo and Aquarium( fka Predator World) in Branson West owned by Breck Wakefield. Rescue crews say a 16-year-old employee entered the tiger exhibit to take some photos for guests. Witnesses tell rescuers the teen was knocked to the ground.  That's when they say two other tigers joined in, dragging the teen to the water trough. "We have two puncture wounds on the neck, one big one on the leg, a big gash on the leg. His neck is bleeding," a caller says on the 911 tape.  That's the condition in which he was airlifted to Springfield, where he remains four days later in critical condition.  The father of the boy, Jim Barr said, "It was holding him down by his leg and tearing his calf off, eating it right in front of him."  A lot of people remember Predator World from last year, when some wolves, a fox and a bear escaped. The bear killed an adult tiger at the park.  What this park is known for is its interactions with animals like sharks, tigers and alligators.
    
    August 3, 2008  Warren County, MO:  A 26 year old volunteer named Jacob Barr was mauled by a tiger at the Wesa-A-Geh-Ya Animal Facility and lost his leg below the knee.  The Warren County Sheriff's Department responded, to a report of a dog attack. Staff at the compound described not a tiger, but rather a pitbull attack. "This was not a dog attack, it was indeed a cat (800 lb tiger) attack on the person," Sheriff Kevin Harrison said. "And that they had tried to mislead my investigators and cover it up."  The victim lost his leg below the knee and was airlifted to Barnes Hospital by Arch Air Medical.  The tiger named Hercules who was said to have hopped the fence was shot to death by the owners, Ken and Sandra Smith. They then hid the body at a family member's house.  The farm is home to 50 exotic animals and has been criticized by animal protection groups and USDA.  About four years ago, the USDA filed allegations against the Smiths that included not providing proper veterinary treatment and lacking adequately trained employees. The Smiths gave up their exhibitor license and later had it revoked for operating without a license.  They are no longer inspected by USDA and the Sheriff's office has no resources to devote to managing these kinds of operations.  More HERE.
    
    July 17, 2008 New Zealand Safari Park:  Lisa Baxter, a 19 year old tour guide knew that if she screamed it would wake the rest of the pack and she would be killed, so she quietly worked to free her hands from the piercing bite of 18 month old Timba, the lion.  Lisa, of Gullane, East Lothian, said: "I was stroking Timba's nose when he just grabbed my hand. His teeth were razorsharp and went straight through my skin."  Later she added, "My hands were so swollen, I thought they were going to explode."
    
    July  10, 2008 Atlanta, GA:  A serval was found wandering near 14th Street and Georgia Tech in mid-town Atlanta and picked up by Animal Services who said the problem is more prevalent than most people think.  Owning an exotic cat as a pet is illegal in GA unless it is being used for "education" so when exotic cats escape their owners rarely come forward.  Big Cat Rescue received a report from a neighbor saying that the owner had become fearful of the cat as he matured and turned him loose on purpose.  The cat, dubbed Ozzie, has been placed in a licensed facility.  GA has no accredited sanctuaries, so that probably wasn't a happy ending for the cat.
    
    June 20, 2008 Thailand's Tiger Temple:  In a report on the Tiger Temple released today is documented and account of a Thai woman who came with her partner to help raise funds for the Temple, put her hand into the tiger, Dao Ruang's, cage to pet her. Dao took hold of the woman's hand with her mouth. When the
    frightened woman tried to pull her hand away, Dao Ruang bit through it and held on. The woman's partner came over and hit Dao Ruang over the head. The woman's hand was badly torn between her 3rd and 4th fingers and required numerous stitches to close the wound. On other occasions, investigators observed tigers attacking staff and volunteers. One resulted in an injured finger, which needing suturing, another a French volunteer whose shirt was ripped, narrowly missing her neck and another a Danish volunteer who was tackled to the ground by and bitten on the leg. The resulting injury got infected and the volunteer need medical treatment at a hospital. During an interview with a journalist in January 2008, the Abbot was asked why the tigers do not bite. The Abbot said, "They want to bite and one day they will bite." Meanwhile the Monks spray tiger urine in the cats' faces to subdue them.   Animal Planet has removed all references to the show.  Read the entire report HERE.
    
    June 19, 2008 Newton County, MO: A deputy shot and killed a 6 month old, declawed, black jaguar after being called to the home of a woman who thought she had seen a cougar. The jaguar had body fat, but no food in its stomach, and his paw pads indicated having been kept on concrete, which means he had escaped from captivity. Missouri does not regulate non-native wildlife, so the agency has no records that might have revealed where the jaguar was being kept.  Last month, a declawed black leopard was shot to death in Neosho, MO.
    
    June 17, 2008  McAllen, TX:  Police said Michelle Ashton, 49, who was arrested while exchanging carriers filled with six tiger cubs in a parking lot, could be linked to a suspected tiger-smuggling ring. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Alejandro Rodriguez says it appears the cubs were bound for Mexico when they were seized. According to the feds, smuggling wildlife is a lucrative business that ranks second only to drug smuggling. "It's a very huge problem," Fish & Wildlife Service Agent Nicholas Chavez said. "It's been prevalent for years. It's something that we see definitely every week." "You could get anywhere from probably $3000 to $25000 a piece for them depending on what color they are, what they look like," he said. Ashton allegedly told police that she was a representative of Spring Hill Wildlife Ranch outside of Calvert in Robertson County. If convicted Ashton could face a $250,000 dollar fine and up to five years in prison for violating the U.S. Endangered Species Act.  Wildlife trafficking earns billions of dollars annually. Smuggling wildlife products feeds into multipurpose criminal distribution networks that generate what Younger called "peripheral
    crime." This includes corruption of officials, falsification of documents, intimidation and murder. "Once we start to dig into these things we find that not only are they smuggling wildlife, for example, but they'll be smuggling narcotics, or diamonds or gold bullion," he said.
    
    June 12, 2008 Shifang, China: Following an earthquake on May 12 and mudslides that caused 400 people to flee on foot, a circus turned loose many of their animals and left 3 lions and 2 tigers behind in cages. On June 3 soldiers shot one 2 year old tiger to death in his cage. One white lion had starved to death already. When Chen Qinghua, head of Wanguan Group, was informed that a tiger and 2 lions were still alive, he organized a rescue party who transported the big cats by helicopter to the Bifengxia Zoo. They had gone without food or water for 25 days.
    
    June 7, 2008 Tokyo, Japan: Zookeeper, Atsushi Ito, was mauled to death by an 11 year old, 330 lb. male tiger while cleaning the animal's cage at the Kyoto City Zoo in western Japan. Police suspected Ito had failed to lock a door that connected two cages.
    
    June 6, 2008 Winnepeg, Canada:  Kelly John Clarke, 38, sometimes called the Tiger Man of St. Clements has been charged with two counts of first degree murder in connection with the brutal killings of Joel Labossiere, 34, and his pregnant wife Magdalena, 33, who were found shot to death inside their St. Vital house on April 20. Clarke first made headlines in 1997 when his Midwest Exotics – a business that bought and sold exotic animals to pet stores, zoos and universities – brought to his St. Clements home Sheena, a Siberian tiger. When his trailer burned to the ground 1998, surrounding residents pressured council to bring forward a restricted exotic animal bylaw. Most of the animals were confiscated, but in August 1999, Winnipeg police seized the 250-kilogram Sheena after the tiger was spotted in a cage in the back of a van in River Heights. In December 2001 Clarke was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison and a 10-year weapons prohibition for 14 armed robberies. He went on the spree to fund a $1,000-a-day crack cocaine habit. In August 2007, Clarke was arrested in Selkirk and charged with intimidation after allegedly disrupting a Winnipeg trial and following a Crown attorney while she drove home from work. These are the kind of people who have big cats as pets.
    
    May 27 So. Africa:  A man in his forties was attacked and killed by six lions on a lion farm in Setlagole, near Mafikeng, North West police said.  Superintendent Koos Degenaar said the man went into the lion's cage to give the animals water.  He was then attacked by six lions. All that was left of the man were fingers and intestines. This is the sixth such incident to be reported in the province in two years. Other incidents include a 13 year old boy who was killed by lions at Tosca, two people who were killed on two different farms at
    Zeerust, anther fatal lion attack at a farm near Swartruggens and a fifth occurred near Potchefstroom.
    
    May 26, 2008 South Bend, IN:  A Potawatomi Zoo worker was attacked by a leopard as she cleaned the cat's holding area, leaving her with head wounds.  Zoo visitors watched Saturday as veteran zoo keeper Jeri Ellis was wheeled away on a stretcher, her head wrapped in bandages and towels spotted in blood.
    
    May 24, 2008 Detroit Zoo, MI:  Royal Oak - An animal handler at the Detroit Zoo has received stitches after being scratched and bitten by a lioness named Katie.  The Detroit Free Press reports the attack happened shortly after Saturday's 5 p.m. public closing time.  Zoo spokeswoman Patricia Mills Janeway says Brett Kipley, who in his 20s, received stitches at a hospital.  The newspaper says Kipley used pepper spray to fend off the animal during the attack.
    
    May 21, 2008 Neosho, MO:  A 61 year old woman was chased into her house by a black leopard.  An officer on the scene said he shot the cat with a shot gun two or three times as it approched him and then fired several rounds from a .45 caliber Glock into the cat's chest before stopping him.  The cat was pawing at the door to get into the house when the police arrived.  The leopard was a declawed pet that had escaped or had been dumped.
    
    May 14, 2008 Russia:  A drunken Russian zookeeper, who was mauled by a lion after climbing into its pen May 1 at a zoo in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, died in hospital Tuesday, investigators said. The man, who had been suspended from work for being drunk, entered the animal's enclosure while the lion slept and was attacked by the big cat as he tried to tap it on the nose.
    
    May 11, 2008 Toledo, OH:  The Toledo Zoo said that a zookeeper suffered three lacerations to the chest while caring for the tigers. The tiger's paw made it through a double mesh barrier at an odd angle, enabling the tiger to come into contact with the keeper.
    
    May 10, 2008 Carrollton, IL:  Authorities have seized an African Serval named Max from Tammy Ruehl who was keeping it as a pet without a permit.  Ruehl says she received a $75 fine. Carrollton Police Chief Mike Kiger says the state had the right to confiscate the animal.
    
    May 9, 2007 Loxahatchee, FL:  According to PR-inside.com  and Palm Beach Post: "Mark McCarthy who took his tiger onto the set of rapper Rick Ross' new video, was savagely attacked by the white tiger.  The big cat, which featured in the background of one of Ross' scenes with Nellie was being used as a prop to look like the rapper's pet.  The tiger turned on the unnamed trainer when he tried to coax the fierce creature out of its cage during filming. Reportedly agitated from being in chains all day, the tiger bit the trainer's leg as he tried to remove it from its cage. The tiger's keeper suffered severe bite wounds to his right leg and was rushed to hospital after the attack.  Now laid up, McCarthy had to cancel some of his other gigs. "Won't be the first time I've been bit, won't be the last. I've been bit by everything from venomous snakes to tigers and leopards and monkeys and who knows what else," said the 52-year-old owner of McCarthy's Wildlife Sanctuary.  He said the $5,000 bonus he got for the video will barely make up for the shows he missed. "
    
    May 9, 2008 Muskegon, MI: Both a serval and a bear are believed to have escaped April 28 or 29. Numerous residents in Fruitport Township reported seeing the bear early this week before it was recovered.  The serval, a declawed cat with no way to protect himself or hunt, is still missing.  He escaped through a window in the room where he was kept. DNR spokeswoman Mary Dettloff said the agency probably will seek a misdemeanor charge against the owners for failure to report the missing bear, as required by the SPCA's permit.
    
    May 1, 2008 Quebec:  The 70-kilogram king of the jungle, who goes by the name of Boomer, has been on the lam since he escaped last night from a house where he was kept as a man's personal pet. The lion, which is about four feet high, was last spotted beside Highway 105, near Maniwaki, about an hour north of Ottawa.
    
    April 18, 2008 Los Angeles, CA: Five Circus Vazquez tigers have been evicted by Los Angeles animal welfare officials because the big-cats earlier attacked and killed another tiger in their small cage. Department general manager Ed Boks says the tigers killed one of their own in Huntington Park on March 31 and the U.S. Department ofAgriculture cited Circus Vazquez for having too many tigers in close proximity to each other. Los Angeles officials went to the San Fernando Valley where the circus was performing across from the Panorama City Mall and the tigers were close together in the same cage. Boks says it was believed to be a public danger.
    
    April 18, 2008 San Francisco, CA: Nicki Phung, 31 and Steven Tieu, 38, admitted in federal court to trying to illegally import a real, stuffed tiger into the United States. The two were caught in December when a U.S. Customs official at San Francisco International Airport inspected a box labeled "toy tiger" mailed from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and bound for the couple's home in Hercules, CA.
    
    March 29, 2008 Wellington, FL:  Judy Berens, owner of Panther Ridge Sanctuary, was showing off her two male cheetahs, Matt and Charlie, that she says she paid $40,000.00 for in Africa, when they knocked her down and punctured her arms and back more than 40 times before volunteers were able to rescue her.  Berens says she has to pay another $10,000. to the Cheetah Conservation Botswana and Cheetah Outreach as part of her deal with the US Fish & Wildlife Service who are not supposed to allow the import of endangered species unless doing so somehow enhances their species chances at survival.  Many of these Cheetah conservation centers are merely breeding facilities that supply cats to zoos and private collectors.  (The cats are not set free.)  Berens has more than twenty exotic cats in her 5 acre back yard and said, she fashioned herself after Katharine Hepburn's leopard-owning character in Bringing up Baby. "I figured if she can have a leopard, why can't I..?." Judy Berens' comment is exactly why displaying big cats as tractable is harmful to people and the cats. If show biz had not portrayed Hepburn as a master of the leopard, Berens might not have shelled out 7500.00 for her Jaguars nor the 50,000 for her pet Cheetahs. As long as people, like Berens continue to exhibit exotic cats as if they were tame, others will say, "...why can't I?"
    
    March 28, 2008 Davenport, FL:  Darryl Atkinson of Horseshoe Creek says the animals have to go now that he won't be able to exhibit them for money.  He has more than 30 big cats in cages that have been cited more than 40 times for being too small and too flimsy.  When Big Cat Rescue called to see if they could help they were told that Atkinson was going to work with Bhagavan Antle (T.I.G.E.R.S. in SC and FL) and that his cats were going with him.  There isn't much the state or federal government can do to stop him if another dealer is willing to let him continue to operate under their license. 
    
    March 20, 2008 Ontario, Canada Bowmanville Zoo: A martial arts teacher knocked over by a lion during a photo shoot for Desi Life at Bowmanville Zoo says she is happy to have come away with four broken ribs and a bloodied lung.  "To be honest, the sensation I have is a great deal of gratitude to be alive," Gitanjali Kolanad said yesterday.  In the video, one minder kicks the baby lion in the neck while the other pulls on a leash. The lion takes a second, unsuccessful lunge at Kolanad as she lies gasping, before he is hauled out the door. "I couldn't breathe – that was the terrifying part. The muscles in my chest seized up and they didn't relax until I was in the emergency room and they gave me a muscle relaxant."  See it here: http://www.thestar.com/DesiLife/article/347684
    
    February 23, 2008 Miami, FL:  A pet serval was turned in, no questions asked, at an exotic pet amnesty day sponsored by the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission.  100 owners dropped off bags full of pythons, scorpions and assorted other reptiles, birds and mammals.  "This is garden-variety stuff," said exotic pet veterinarian Thomas Goldsmith, who examined the submissions. "This is Miami. People have sloths and leopards and God knows what else."  The FWC then gave the dumped pets to new owners.  One of the people surrendering her pets, Christie Lyon said, "People have no idea what they're getting into."
    
    February 21, 2008 Honolulu, HI:  A 245-pound Sumatra tiger named Berani was discovered wandering around an unsecured area just before the Honolulu Zoo's opening on Thursday. A startled female volunteer reported the escape after the tiger brushed past her. Zoo workers describe 8-year-old Berani as the tamest of three tigers at the zoo. Quintal says staff members who cleaned the tiger enclosure failed to properly latch a gate.
    
    February 21, 2008 Johnstown, OH:  Ben Uditis was driving when he noticed a fire at 3159 S. County Line
    Rd. Editis woke Rick Armstrong and helped him get his animals out of his garage, including a caged tiger.  Firefighters arriving on the scene had to work around the big cat to put out the blaze. ( Since no one was harmed, this is not included in the totals above as an incident although the first responders would certainly call it one. )
    
    February 13, 2008 Bracebridge, Ontario: Provincial police were forced to shoot and kill a six year old jaguar named Bhino after he broke through a chain link cage at Guhu Exotic Animal Reserve. When officers arrived, they found the jaguar with the family's pet dog in his mouth. The dog was on a chain and therefore couldn't escape the jaguar and had to be put down because of severe injuries.
    
    February 9, 2008 Davenport, FL: Brenda Chapman was clawed by a tiger named Kheira while cleaning out its cage, at Horseshoe Creek said Gary Morse of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.The incident comes on the heels of Darryl Atkinson's Feb. 1 arrest on charges of grand theft and signing a forged instrument. The commission said it found Atkinson accepting money from people on court-ordered probation in exchange for signing off on community service work they did not do. "That's just not what I need with all this other stuff," owner Darryl Atkinson said.
    
    January 24, 2008 Seattle, WA:  Two declawed, yearling servals were found wandering around West Seattle. Animal Control picked up one on Jan. 1 as it was going after some cat food left on a doorstep. Officers picked up the second one on the grounds of Madison Middle School.  Officer Don Baxter suspects they both belonged to the same owner, who has not claimed them.
    
    January 18, 2008 Mayes County, OK:  The fire at Safari Joe's Exotic Wildlife Refuge destroyed a large barn that housed big cats, monkeys, birds and reptiles. Joe Estes, who owns the refuge, says he was able to save some tigers and lions but at least two tigers housed on the property died in the flames along with about 100 other exotic animals.

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 994

• Swim With Tigers and Ligers Swim With Tigers and Ligers

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:

    Swim With Tigers and Ligers.  It is against all the rules, but offered by T.I.G.E.R.S.

  • 2 years ago
  • Views: 496

• Antle Breaking All the Rules Antle Breaking All the Rules

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:

    Breaking All the Rules
    
    This video of people swimming with tigers at T.I.G.E.R.S. aired November 12, 2008 on Inside Edition. Millions of people saw Kevin Antle flagrantly disregarding USDA's big cat policies and many of them complained, but USDA has done nothing about it. Quote: "The handling regulations prohibit the exhibition of such animals without sufficient distance and/or barriers between the animals and the viewing public to assure the safety of the public and the animals. Trained handlers, leashes, and stages, for example, are not substitutes for sufficient distance and/or barriers."

    The video:  http://www.insideedition.com/videos.aspx?videoID=208
    
    The USDA policy on big cats:
    http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/big_cat/big_cat_q&a.pdf
    
    Complaints can be sent to:
    USDA/APHIS/AC
    920 Main Campus Drive Suite 200
    Raleigh, NC 27606-5210
    E-mail: aceast@aphis.usda.gov
    Phone: (919) 855-7100
    Fax: (919) 855-7123
    
    Regarding:
    USDA Exhibitor's License 56-C-0116
    Bhagavan Antle, T.I.G.E.R.S.
    1818 Hwy 17 N #316
    Surfside Beach, SC 29575

  • Blog post
  • 2 years ago
  • Views: 304

• Cover Letter of Concern about Cover Letter of Concern about public contact with Big Cats

  • From: Laudylu7
  • Description:

    Laura Hilderbrand

    307 E. 10^th Street

    Coffeyville, KS 67337

    620-251-9258

    laudylu@hotmail.com

     

    To whom it may concern:

     

    As I was in the process of sending out this letter, I saw on the news where yet another person was attacked by a Liger (cross of Tiger and Lion). This happened at the Safari’s “sanctuary”, a facility in Broken Arrow, OK. This is a facility that is supposedly more regulated for safety reasons.

     

    What is it going to take for people to understand that these big cats are NOT domestic, docile or tame???

     

    How many people have to be attacked before we realize that they can and will attack and we will not know when this might happen? They do not warn ahead of time. Taking the chance is like playing Russian Roulette!

     

    When will we understand that “licensed”, “approved”, “insured” are words that do not guarantee that facilities or groups tossing these words around do not necessarily follow the regulations or laws that the license or approval implies they should?

     

    When will we quit letting groups who have a license or approval and call themselves “circus”, “carnival” or “road show” are only using these terms to slide under the few laws there are to promote safety of the animals and the public who wish to view them?

     

    Read on and I will tell you about one such group who was recently in Southeast Kansas doing just that; sliding under the law.

     

    And the law enforcement agencies who didn’t know these laws and yet when made aware of them (actually shown in print), refused to enforce them…basically stating it was not their job...And the law states authority lies with local law enforcement.

     

    Kindly,

     

    Laura Hilderbrand

     

    PS: This young man did not survive the attack.

  • Blog post
  • 2 years ago
  • Views: 93

• Liger Kills Keeper on Today Sh Liger Kills Keeper on Today Show

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:
    Liger Kills Keeper on Today Show
  • 2 years ago
  • Views: 623

• Liger Kills Volunteer Peter Ge Liger Kills Volunteer Peter Getz

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:

    October 29, 2008 Broken Arrow, OK: Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary is home to 27 big cats. Former keepers have warned for years that the practices there of allowing contact with adult tigers would lead to injuries, escapes and death. SIAS' website is covered in the typically ignorant photos of the President, Lori Ensign bottle feeding tigers and walking them on leashes. That kind of irresponsible behavior can only lead to tragedy for humans as well as the animals when they pay the ultimate price. Now the liger named Rocky may be killed for mauling to death a volunteer named Peter Getz who walked in the cage while feeding the cat a deer carcass. The mauling happened in the presence of more than 40 pre schoolers who were ushered away from the scene.
    
    Liger Attacks and Kills Handler
    
    Animal Handler Dies After Attack
    
    
    The reported attack happened just before noon on Wednesday.
    
    Safari's Animal Sanctuary
    
    BROKEN ARROW, OK -- A volunteer who was attacked by a large cat at an animal sanctuary east of Broken Arrow has died.
    
    St. John Medical Center in Tulsa confirmed Friday morning, Peter Getz passed away from his injuries overnight.
    
    Getz suffered wounds to his neck and upper torso after he was reportedly attacked by a liger during feeding time at Safari's Animal Sanctuary at 26881 East 58th Street in Wagoner County.
    
    The reported attack happened just before noon on Wednesday.
    
    Safari's says it is still trying to piece together what caused a large cat to turn on Getz.
    
    Sanctuary officials say it appears Getz opened the animal's pen during feeding which is a violation of the sanctuaries rules.
    
    Federal wildlife officials are investigating.
    
    Getz had worked for the Tulsa Zoo and had volunteered at Safari's Animal Sanctuary for the past year and half.
    
    http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=9271468

  • Blog post
  • 2 years ago
  • Views: 930

• Liger Mauling Lori Ensign Liger Mauling Lori Ensign

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:

    Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary
    
    Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary is home to 27 big cats. Former keepers have warned for years that the practices there would lead to injuries, escapes and death. SIAS' website is covered in the typically ignorant photos of the President, Lori Ensign bottle feeding tigers and walking them on leashes. That kind of irresponsible behavior can only lead to tragedy for humans as well as the animals when they pay the ultimate price.
    
    Liger Attacks Handler
    
    Posted: Oct 29, 2008 01:46 PM
    
    Updated: Oct 30, 2008 07:39 AM
    FEATURED VIDEO
    
    The incident happened as the children were walking by the cage. The incident happened as the children were walking by the cage. The attack occurred at Safaris Animal Sanctuary at 26881 East 58th Street in Wagoner County.
    The attack occurred at Safaris Animal Sanctuary at 26881 East 58th Street in Wagoner County. NewsOn6.com
    
    BROKEN ARROW, OK -- A handler at a wild animal sanctuary east of Broken Arrow has been attacked by a large cat.
    
    The attack occurred before noon Wednesday at Safari's Animal Sanctuary at 26881 East 58th Street in Wagoner County.
    
    A sheriff's deputy at the sanctuary tells The News On 6, the handler was bitten in the upper torso and neck area.
    
    The handler, identified as Peter Getz, was flown by medical helicopter to a Tulsa hospital and is currently listed in critical condition.
    
    The sheriff's deputy says a group of 40 Pre-K elementary Haskell school children were at the sanctuary at the time of the incident, but did not witness the attack. An adult sponsor saw the incident and pushed the children away from the scene.
    
    The incident happened as the children were walking by the cage.
    
    http://www.newson6.com/global/category.asp?C=112039
    
    Liger injures worker at animal sanctuary in Broken Arrow
    
    
    
    BY MICHAEL KIMBALL
    Published: October 29, 2008
    
    BROKEN ARROW — A liger at a Wagoner County animal sanctuary attacked a volunteer late this morning, officials said.
    
    Peter Getz, whose hometown and age were not immediately available, was airlifted to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa in critical condition, a Broken Arrow Fire Department spokesman said.
    
    A hospital spokeswoman said Getz was admitted to the emergency room, but an updated status was not available this afternoon.
    
    The attack occurred just before noon at Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary, 26881 E 58, east of Broken Arrow, Wagoner County sheriff's deputy Eugene Smith said.
    
    Getz was trying to feed the liger when it attacked him, leaving wounds on his chest and neck, Smith said.
    
    A liger is a cross between a lion and a tiger. According to the sanctuary's Web site, the liger is named Rocky.
    
    Calls to the animal sanctuary went to voicemail without ringing. The voicemail message says "a volunteer had an injury. Due to the emotional strain of the situation, Safari's will be closed until further notice."
    
    http://newsok.com/worker-attacked-by-tiger-at-animal-sanctuary-in-broken-arrow/article/3316910?custom_click=headlines_widget
    
    
    
    Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary is not a sanctuary, but rather, a part of the problem. Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary at 26881 E 58, east of Broken Arrow, Wagoner County, OK is home to 27 big cats. Former keepers have warned for years that the practices there would lead to injuries, escapes and death. SIAS' website is covered in the typically ignorant photos of the President, Lori Ensign bottle feeding tigers and walking them on leashes. That kind of irresponsible behavior can only lead to tragedy for humans as well as the animals when they pay the ultimate price. See SanctuaryStandards.com to see that this is no sanctuary.
    
    Mauling puzzles BA wildlife refuge owner
    
    
    By TIM STANLEY World Staff Writer
    10/30/2008 10:25 AM
    
    BROKEN ARROW — Officials with a Broken Arrow wildlife refuge are at a loss to understand why an experienced animal handler who was mauled Wednesday by a big cat violated rules by opening a cage during feeding time.
    
    Peter Getz, 32, a volunteer at Safari's Animal Sanctuary, 26881 E. 58th St., was attacked shortly before noon Wednesday while attempting to feed a liger.
    
    Getz, who suffered wounds to his neck, remained hospitalized Thursday morning at Saint John Medical Center in Tulsa in critical condition.
    
    Lori Ensign, sanctuary owner and operator, said she's trying to piece together what happened, but she knows the sanctuary's strict policy against opening the animal pens during feedings was not followed.
    
    "We try to have all the procedures in place, but for some reason, they weren't followed this time. In all my years we've stressed that whatever you do you don't open that gate," said Ensign, who was away buying feed when the attack occurred.
    
    Ensign said Getz, who is experienced and loves working with animals, has volunteered at the sanctuary for about a year and a half and worked previously at the Tulsa Zoo.
    
    "This is just horrid," Ensign said. "Peter is like a brother. He loves doing this, loves the carnivores — the bears, big cats
    
    and snakes. We were thinking about turning the place over to him some day."
    
    She said she and others are working to set up a fund to help with Getz's medical expenses, with more information to follow.
    
    Other volunteers were with Getz during the feeding, per sanctuary rules.
    
    "We always have three people for feedings as back-up," Ensign said. "They were there and were able to help get him out. But they are still in shock right now and we don't want to push them to find out why procedures were broken. We want to give them time."
    
    The liger, named Rocky, is a hybrid cross between a male lion and a female tiger.
    
    Rocky's fate will ultimately be determined by state wildlife officials, who will investigate the incident and decide whether the cat will be euthanized, Ensign said.
    
    Ensign said the facility has a good safety record.
    
    In 2000, two handlers at the sanctuary were bitten by a black bear, according to reports. The bear was later euthanized.
    
    The sanctuary, a nonprofit wildlife refuge, houses about 200 animals, most of which were donated by private owners, according to the facility's Web site. All staff members are volunteers.
    
    The facility is licensed and regulated through the Oklahoma Wildlife Department and United States Department of Agriculture and is subject to the same rules as public zoos.
    
    Handler attacked while feeding large cat
    
    BROKEN ARROW - Peter Getz, 32, an employee of Safari's Animal Sanctuary in Broken Arrow, remains in critical condition at a Tulsa hospital after being mauled by a liger, a hybrid of a lion and a tigress.
    
    
    Authorities say Getz was feeding the big cat Wednesday when he was attacked and bitten on the neck.
    
    After escaping the cage, Getz collapsed. Paramedics performed CPR on him and he was flown by helicopter to St. John Medical Center for treatment.
    
    The refuge was immediately evacuated and locked down.
    
    A group of students from Haskell was inside the sanctuary at the time of the attack but apparently did not see or hear anything that was going on.
    
    A Ledger call to Safari's owner Lori Ensign was answered automatically: "Due to the emotional strain from this injury, Safari's will be closed until further notice. We will only be able to answer emergency calls at this time, so please keep us in your prayers."
    
    http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20182445&BRD=2754&PAG=461&dept_id=574063&rfi=6
    
    Liger Critically Injures Oklahoma Zoo Worker
    
    Broken Arrow, OK (AHN) - A worker at an Oklahoma zoo was seriously injured after a liger, a cross between a lion and a tiger, attacked him Wednesday while feeding the animal.
    
    Peter Getz of Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary in Broken Arrow was taken to the St. John Medical Center in Tulsa and remains in critical condition for injuries in the neck and chest, according to authorities.
    
    Zoo officials have no comment but a recorded message from its telephone answering machine said a worker was injured and the safari is closed until further notice.
    http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012846430
    
    Worker attacked by tiger at animal sanctuary
    
    
    By Don Bishop @ October 30, 2008 3:29 AM
    
    BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) - Authorities say a handler at a Wagoner County wild animal sanctuary suffered a puncture wound to the neck after a big cat attacked him during a feeding.
    
    Thirty-two-year-old Peter Getz was bitten in the upper torso and the neck area at Safari's Animal Sanctuary yesterday around noon. Getz was flown by medical helicopter to Saint John Medical Center, where he is listed in critical condition.
    
    Sheriff's Deputy James Suddath says Getz was able to escape the cage following the attack, then collapsed.
    
    Initial reports said Getz was attacked by a tiger. KRMG reported that a lion-tiger mix (a "liger") named Rocky attacked the handler.
    
    Officials say a Haskell Public Schools class on a field trip at the sanctuary didn't witness the attack and that the facility was evacuated and locked down after the incident.
    
    
    http://krmg.com/blogging/cxr-search.cgi?tag=puncture%20wound&blog_id=51&IncludeBlogs=51
    
    Handler is mauled by big cat
    
    
    Rocky the liger is shown at Safari's Animal Sanctuary in Broken Arrow. Tulsa World file
    
    
    
    By TIM STANLEY World Staff Writer
    10/30/2008
    Last Modified: 10/30/2008 2:38 AM
    
    The handler suffers a neck wound and is hospitalized in critical condition.
    
    
    BROKEN ARROW — An animal handler at a wildlife refuge was mauled by a big cat during a feeding Wednesday.
    
    The attack occurred shortly before noon at Safari's Animal Sanctuary, 26881 E. 58th St., emergency responders said.
    
    The handler, identified as Peter Getz, 32, was attacked by a liger, a hybrid of a lion and a tigress.
    
    Getz, who suffered a puncture wound to his neck, was flown by helicopter to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Fire Department officials said.
    
    He was listed in critical condition Wednesday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said.
    
    Deputy Fire Chief James Suddath said: "He was bitten on the neck during a feeding, but he was able to escape the cage. He collapsed after he got out."
    
    Paramedics performed CPR on Getz, Suddath said.
    
    Wagoner County sheriff's deputies also responded.
    
    A deputy said a Haskell Public Schools class was on a field trip at the sanctuary but did not witness the attack.
    
    The refuge was immediately evacuated and locked down, with the liger, named Rocky, and other animals remaining in their pens, officials said.
    
    Sanctuary officials could not be reached Wednesday for comment.
    
    The sanctuary, a nonprofit wildlife refuge, houses about 200 animals, most of which were donated by private owners, according to its Web site.
    
    All of its staff members are volunteers.
    
    The refuge is licensed and regulated through the Oklahoma Wildlife Department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is subject to the same rules as public zoos.
    
    Officials said regulatory officials had been notified about the incident.
    
    In 2000, two handlers at the sanctuary were bitten by a black bear.
    
    http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20081030_12_A5_Rockyt778685
    
    Liger Attacks Handler At Safari's
    
    Broken Arrow - A handler at Safari's wildlife sanctuary in Broken Arrow is in critical condition after being attacked by a liger.
    
    Owner Lori Ensign says they aren't sure why the cat attacked handler Peter Getz. The liger which is half tiger and half lion has been at the park for over 10 years.
    
    Ensign says Gets was feeding the liger when he opened the cage door, something ensign says they never do for safety. Getz is in ICU at St. John Medical Center.
    
    Ensign says they plan to set up a fund for Getz at Arvest Bank to help with medical expenses.
    
    http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/1008/565586.html
    
    Volunteer critically injured by large cat at Broken Arrow sanctuary
    
    
    A large cat mauled a volunteer at the Safari's Sanctuary in Broken Arrow Wednesday morning.
    
    The attack occurred at approximately 11:45 at the sanctuary, located at 26881 East 58th Street in the Wagoner County portion of Broken Arrow.
    
    Lori Ensign, operator of the sanctuary, told 2NEWS HD that the incident involved one of the sanctuary's most well-known and popular animals, "Rocky."
    
    "Rocky" is a cross between a lion and a tiger, a hybrid referred to as a "liger."
    
    Ensign said that the accident occurred during a feeding.
    
    A LifeFlight helicopter transported the volunteer, a 32-year-old man, to St. John Medical Center.
    
    This story will be updated as new information becomes available.
    
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apRpFg2F2NM Video of Rocky the liger being fed by guests
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIG2iAYtoxQ Video of Rocky the liger being fed by guests w/ owner's narration
    
    Liger injures worker at animal sanctuary in Broken Arrow
    
    
    Comments Comment on this article5
    BY MICHAEL KIMBALL
    Published: October 29, 2008
    
    BROKEN ARROW — A liger at a Wagoner County animal sanctuary attacked a volunteer late this morning, officials said.
    
    Rocky the liger, shown in this undated file photo, attacked a volunteer at a Wagoner County wildlife sanctuary Wednesday, officials said. Photo provided by The Tulsa World
    Advertisement
    
    Peter Getz, whose hometown and age were not immediately available, was airlifted to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa in critical condition, a Broken Arrow Fire Department spokesman said.
    
    A hospital spokeswoman said Getz was admitted to the emergency room, but an updated status was not available this afternoon.
    
    The attack occurred just before noon at Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary, 26881 E 58, east of Broken Arrow, Wagoner County sheriff's deputy Eugene Smith said.
    
    Getz was trying to feed the liger when it attacked him, leaving wounds on his chest and neck, Smith said.
    
    A liger is a cross between a lion and a tiger. According to the sanctuary's Web site, the liger is named Rocky.
    Calls to the animal sanctuary went to voicemail without ringing. The voicemail message says "a volunteer had an injury. Due to the emotional strain of the situation, Safari's will be closed until further notice."
    
    http://newsok.com/liger-injures-worker-at-animal-sanctuary-in-broken-arrow/article/3316910
    
    
    Worker attacked by tiger at animal sanctuary
    
    
    Associated Press - October 29, 2008 9:05 PM ET
    
    BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) - Authorities say a handler at a Wagoner County wild animal sanctuary suffered a puncture wound to the neck after a big cat attacked him during a feeding today.
    
    Thirty-2-year-old Peter Getz was bitten in the upper torso and the neck area at Safari's Animal Sanctuary and flown by medical helicopter to St. John Medical Center, where he is listed in critical condition.
    
    Sheriff's Deputy James Suddath says Getz was able to escape the cage following the attack, then collapsed.
    
    Initial reports said Getz was attacked by a tiger. The Tulsa World reported that a lion-tiger mix named Rocky attacked the handler.
    
    Officials say a Haskell Public Schools class on a field trip at the sanctuary didn't witness the attack and that the facility was evacuated and locked down after the incident.
    
    Information from: The Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com and KOTV-TV, http://www.newson6.com
    
    http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=9260770&nav=menu410_3
    
    
    Big cat injures Wagoner sanctuary volunteer
    
    
    BY MICHAEL KIMBALL
    Published: October 30, 2008
    
    BROKEN ARROW — A 1,000-pound cat attacked a volunteer Wednesday at a Wagoner County animal sanctuary, officials said. The cat was identified as a liger, which is a cross between a male lion and a female tiger.
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    Peter Getz, 32, of Stillwater was airlifted to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa in critical condition with wounds to his chest and neck, a Broken Arrow Fire Department spokesman said. A hospital spokeswoman would not release his condition.
    
    The attack occurred just before noon at Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary, 26881 E 58, east of Broken Arrow, Wagoner County sheriff's Deputy Eugene Smith said. Getz was trying to feed the liger when it attacked.
    
    Calls to the animal sanctuary went to voicemail Wednesday. The message says "a volunteer had an injury. Due to the emotional strain of the situation, Safari's will be closed until further notice." The sanctuary did not return a call seeking comment.
    
    The liger, named Rocky, weighed an estimated 1,000 pounds, according to an undated video from Tulsa television station KOTV-6 posted on the sanctuary's Web site.
    
    In 2003, a bear cub attacked a handler's arms and legs at Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary.
    http://newsok.com/big-cat-injures-sanctuary-volunteer/article/3317094

  • Blog post
  • 2 years ago
  • Views: 281

• Liger Mauls Keeper at Safari's Liger Mauls Keeper at Safari's Interactive Animals

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:
    Liger injures worker at animal sanctuary in Broken Arrow
     
    BY MICHAEL KIMBALL
    Published: October 29, 2008
     
    BROKEN ARROW — A liger at a Wagoner County animal sanctuary attacked a volunteer late this morning, officials said.
     
    Peter Getz, whose hometown and age were not immediately available, was airlifted to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa in critical condition, a Broken Arrow Fire Department spokesman said.
     
    A hospital spokeswoman said Getz was admitted to the emergency room, but an updated status was not available this afternoon.
     
    The attack occurred just before noon at Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary, 26881 E 58, east of Broken Arrow, Wagoner County sheriff's deputy Eugene Smith said.
     
    Getz was trying to feed the liger when it attacked him, leaving wounds on his chest and neck, Smith said.
     
    A liger is a cross between a lion and a tiger. According to the sanctuary's Web site, the liger is named Rocky.
     
    Calls to the animal sanctuary went to voicemail without ringing. The voicemail message says "a volunteer had an injury. Due to the emotional strain of the situation, Safari's will be closed until further notice."
     
    http://newsok.com/worker-attacked-by-tiger-at-animal-sanctuary-in-broken-arrow/article/3316910?custom_click=headlines_widget
    
    
    Safari's Interactive Animal Sanctuary is home to 27 big cats. Former keepers have warned for years that the practices there would lead to injuries, escapes and death. SIAS' website is covered in the typically ignorant photos of the President, Lori Ensign bottle feeding tigers and walking them on leashes. That kind of irresponsible behavior can only lead to tragedy for humans as well as the animals when they pay the ultimate price.
    
  • Blog post
  • 2 years ago
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• Chimp apes mum's love for tige Chimp apes mum's love for tiger

  • From: CaroleBaskin
  • Description:

    I was dismayed to see that Bhagavan Antle (who is no Dr., but rather just calls himself Doc Antle) managed to bamboozle your paper into believing he has any real interest in conservation.  That is only the ruse he uses to exploit exotic animals for his own profit.  No real conservationist would breed white tigers.  Had your reporter googled "white tigers" she would know that.  The American Zoological Association and the head of the Tiger Species Survival Plan denounce such practices.  Find out why here:
    
    http://www.bigcatrescue.org/cats/wild/white_tigers.htm
    
    Surely no American paper would print such self serving drivel.  Australia has a couple of bad places who are breeding white tigers and trying to use the same conservation lip service that Antle uses, so it doesn't surprise me much that it isn't well known there just how abusive this is.  On the other hand, Australia has been very progressive in their understanding that importing exotic cat hybrids would be devastating to your environment.  People are catching on and soon it will be common knowledge that anyone who is breeding white tigers, tabby tigers, liger, king Cheetahs and other such anomalies is doing so merely for their own profit and not for that of the species nor the planet.
    
    Chimp apes mum's love for tiger
    
    By Angela Saurine October 13, 2008 12:00am
    
    THEY may not be related by blood but orphaned tiger cub Mitra loves to monkey around with his unlikely surrogate mum.
    
    Mitra and sibling Shiva were separated from their mother during Hurricane Hanna in the US last month.
    
    Now the three-week-old white tiger cubs have found comfort in the arms of caring chimpanzee Anjna.
    
    While they would be unlikely companions out in the wild, in the safety of The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species in South Carolina they have formed a strong bond.
    
    "She gives them a bottle, lies with them and acts as a surrogate mother," TIGERS founder Dr Bhagavan Antle said. Dr Antle said the sanctuary in which the tiger cubs lived was flooded in the hurricane and they had to be moved into a house.
    
    When their mother became distressed, staff decided to separate them for their own safety.
    
    The cubs were placed in the care of infant animal care giver China York and her chimpanzee companion, Anjna. "Anjna has been with China side by side ever since she was born and has joined her in caring and raising baby animals," Dr Antle said.
    
    "She has just finished raising four lions and they were inseparable. She is a great assistant."
    
    TIGERS is a wildlife organisation dedicated to promoting conservation.
    
    http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24487190-24331,00.html

  • Blog post
  • 2 years ago
  • Views: 436

• Doc Antle's Liger and Other Pr Doc Antle's Liger and Other Property

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:
    Wild animals should be protected in the wild and not bred for life in cages. Stupid women are often drawn in by owners of big cats to do his bidding. Find out why this is so abusive at http://www.bigcatrescue.org/000news/0articlesbybcr/2008DyingToBeHeld.htm
  • 2 years ago
  • Views: 76

• Karl Mitchel of All Acting Ani Karl Mitchel of All Acting Animals

  • From: TheirVoice
  • Description:

    Karl Mitchel of All Acting Animals

    Check for yourself to see if they meet the sanctuary standards for an accredited animal refuge. See an interactive online map of exotic cat owners . See people being stupid with big cats, endangering themselves and others HERE . See the awful conditions that many captive cats endure HERE .

    Karl Mitchell / All Acting Animals big cats go to San Antonio

    By Angie Wagner

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    1:37 p.m. March 2, 2005

    PAHRUMP, Nev. - Down a quiet gravel road lined by homes, six tigers and two leopards live amid the roosters and cats in a small back yard. They are hungry and dirty, and their owner can no longer care for them.

    Carol Asvestas is tired of seeing the same scene played out across the country. Big cats are taken in as pets or kept in so-called sanctuaries, but then are neglected by owners who become overwhelmed.

    Many big cats, like the ones here, will end up with Asvestas at her San Antonio , Texas , Wild Animal Orphanage.

    Animal protection groups want private ownership of big cats outlawed. They say that with an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 large cats kept as pets in the United States , the problem is out of control.

    Just last week, authorities shot and killed a 425-pound tiger that had been roaming the hills near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Los Angeles . Where it came from and who owned it is unknown.

    State laws vary on owning exotic animals such as tigers, wolves and alligators. Just 14 ban private ownership altogether; eight have a partial ban on some species, 13 states regulate exotic animals and 15 states, including Nevada, have no regulations of many exotic animals, according to the Animal Protection Institute.

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires licenses for exhibitors, dealers and researchers, but not private owners keeping a big cat as a pet.

    "It's a huge public safety risk that is 100 percent preventable," said Dr. Kim Haddad, a veterinarian and manager of the Captive Wild Animal Protection Coalition, made up of more than 20 animal protection groups, sanctuaries and zoos.

    "The solution is so easy. You just cannot have these animals as pets."

    Sure, tiger cubs are cute and cuddly. But when they reach 600 pounds and eat 20 pounds of meat a day, owners often find themselves in over their heads. And it's often Asvestas who comes in to help.

    Such was the case in Pahrump, a dusty desert town near the California border, where a woman decided she couldn't care for her back yard tigers and leopards anymore. One pet leopard was quarantined after it bit off the tip of the woman's finger last week.

    Asvestas and the International Fund for Animal Welfare organized a rescue mission Tuesday, at the owner's request. She and helpers tranquilized, then loaded the skinny and mangy cats one by one into a trailer for the trip to Texas . There, they will be among 700 animals, 200 of them big cats. In the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson on Wednesday, the group collected two tigers, three lions and four wolves from another private owner.

    Animal groups cite numerous incidents of big cats getting loose or harming someone.

    - A 600-pound tiger belonging to a former Tarzan actor escaped in Florida and sent authorities on a 26-hour hunt before the tiger was shot and killed last July. The state does not monitor the keeping of exotic animals as pets.

    - A 10-year-old boy at a relative's house in North Carolina was killed by a tiger that pulled him inside its cage in December 2003. The next month, a tiger mauled a 14-year-old girl taking pictures in a tiger's cage at her father's farm. There is no state law about owning exotic animals.

    - In April 2003, authorities found 58 dead tiger cubs stuffed into freezers, 30 dead adult tigers, and two alligators in a bathtub at a California home. California has one of the strictest exotic pet laws in the nation, but critics say enforcement is a problem.

    - Pet owner Antoine Yates was bitten on the leg in 2003 by the pet tiger he kept in his New York apartment, a building where children also lived. New York now bans possession of many wild animals, though it doesn't apply to current owners.

    The popularity of owning big cats prompted Congress to pass a law in 2003 that makes it illegal to sell or ship lions, tigers and other big cats across state lines without permits. But animal welfare groups want an outright ban, saying the 5,000 to 7,000 privately owned tigers probably exceed the total number in the wild.

    "It is an odd phenomenon where people are setting up, essentially, personal zoos," said Chris Cutter, spokesman for the IFAW. "For some people, it's a status thing."

    The call for an end to private ownership is not unanimous. Patti Strand, president of the National Animal Interest Alliance, said her organization supports regulation of exotic pet owners, but said people who can handle the animals should be able to have them.

    "There is a growing body of animal groups that do nothing but exploit rather than try to solve problems because there are fund-raising dollars to be made by the sensationalism that goes along with that,' she said.

    The tigers in Pahrump, kept in cages behind a tan-colored trailer home, were part of a defunct animal sanctuary, said Steven A. Benson, who identified himself as a board member.

    "There's just too many cats to take care of," Benson said. "It's overwhelming."

    Animal groups say many big cat owners set up as a nonprofit sanctuary as a front to get money and really aren't capable of caring for the animals.

    "You have a lot of facilities out there who call themselves sanctuaries or rescue facilities," Haddad said. "For the most part, a lot of these people, these animals are their pets and they keep collecting them."

    Big cats kept and bred in captivity can never be released in the wild because their fear of man is gone, and often their genetics are upset through inbreeding. As long as animals are kept in back yards, Asvestas will likely keep getting calls.

    "I get tired," she said. "I can't take them all. We just turned down five animals last week."

    EDITOR'S NOTE - Angie Wagner is the AP's Western regional writer, based in Las Vegas .

    Big Cat Rescue Note:

    Shaquille, the black leopard and Dara, the cougar were rescued from Karl Mitchell many years ago. They had been beaten unmercifully and Dara (who is gone now) had a brain infection from the severity of her blows to the skull. For years when we would tell people about Shaq's story people would ask, "Why can't someone shut him down!" It wasn't until the owner was sent to jail for stealing a car that anything could be done to save the animals.

    March 4, 2005

    Exotic animals in town rescued

    MITCHELL'S TIGERS, LEOPARDS HEADED TO SAN ANTONIO REFUGE

    By DOUG McMURDO PVT

    HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT

    Norma Lagutchik of Animal Sanctuary of the United States helps Chuck Tay and Trey Alecio (not pictured) carry a sedated tiger to a trailer designed to transport the big cats from the far western Pahrump compound of Karl Mitchell, now imprisoned on theft charges.

    Karl Mitchell, the former Pahrump and Amargosa Valley animal control contractor, might still be in the pen but the tigers and leopards he kept for years at a compound in extreme western Pahrump were freed Tuesday, in a sense, when members of the Animal Sanctuary of the United States arrived to haul off six tigers and two leopards to the Wild Animal Orphanage in San Antonio.

    According to Josephine Martell, Sandy Allman contacted the group last week and asked for assistance. Martell said the exotic cats were living in deplorable conditions.

    Martell, a captive wild animal specialist with the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said Allman, who last week had the tip of her index finger bit off by a leopard, had tried in vain to care for the tigers, but "she was barely hanging on. The animals hadn't seen a vet in more than a year. They were covered in feces and had urine burns ... the conditions were just really filthy."

    One of Allman's neighbors called the newspaper Tuesday to say he was happy the cats were being taken away, but fretted over the large number of dogs still on the property. "They are all in bad shape," said the man, who spoke on condition his name not be used. "They've been hauling stuff to the dump for days now, but that place is in bad shape. What are they going to do about the dogs?" Allman is Mitchell's former partner.

    Mitchell is one of Nye County 's more controversial characters. He is now in prison following a theft conviction last year related to a Suburban he failed to return to the dealership after its lease expired and he awaits sentencing on additional theft charges after he cashed three checks totaling more than $40,000. The checks were mistakenly sent to Mitchell after Nye County Commissioners terminated his animal control contract in 2000.

    In 2001 the United States Department of Agriculture revoked Mitchell's All Acting Animals license to own exotic cats after it was determined he didn't provide minimal care per federal standards.

    Where they are going is going to seem like heaven. According to Martell the Wild Animal Orphanage will treat and "immediately vet" the cats, they will be put on a diet and will see a veterinarian regularly. "It's a big, natural habitat," Martell said of the orphanage. "There will be no contact with humans, and they'll be neutered so no breeding, but they will be able to live out their lives in peace."

    Martell said the no breeding rule is included in sanctuary standards, and is used to spot illegitimate sanctuaries that would exploit the animals for profit.

    "After getting the tigers and leopards from All Acting Animals some much-needed veterinary care, I greatly look forward to releasing them in to spacious, naturalistic enclosures," stated Carol Asvestas , executive director of the Wild Animal Orphanage.

    Martell said the group was at Betty Honn's Animal Adoption Ltd. in Henderson on Wednesday to rescue eight tigers, three lions, two leopards, four wolves, and four monkeys. The taking was necessary, said Martell, in light of Honn's death and the subsequent insolvency of her sanctuary.

    The leopard that bit Allman last week remains penned up on the Pahrump property. It is in quarantine.

    http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes. com/2005/03/04/news/sanctuary.html

    To: National Desk

    Contact: Chris Cutter, 508-737-4623 or ccutter@ifaw.org , Kerry Branon, 508-744-2068 or kbranon@ifaw.org , both of the International Fund for Animal Welfare

    YARMOUTH PORT , Mass. , March 1 / U.S. Newswire/ -- Thirteen big cats and their neighbors will be safer thanks to the help of IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare - www.ifaw.org). Over the next two days, an IFAW-funded sanctuary, the Wild Animal Orphanage (WAO) is moving three lions, two leopards, four wolves and eight tigers from two separate homes near Las Vegas to a suitable sanctuary in Texas .

    "Keeping lions and tigers as pets is a growing phenomenon that is causing a huge public safety and animal welfare issue," said IFAW's Josephine Martell, "It's a bad idea for animals and people."

    The number of Americans keeping tigers and other big cats as pets continues to grow. IFAW estimates that there are 10,000 tigers being kept as pets in the U.S. , double the amount left living in the wild in the entire world. Since 1990, tigers have killed 11 people and injured 60 others. Just last week, a tiger escaped and was roaming the neighborhoods of Ventura County , near Los Angeles before it was shot and killed by authorities.

    "Many of the animals are living in filthy conditions. They are malnourished, without water and standing in their own excrement in cages that are too small," WAO's Carole Asvestas said. "With IFAW's help, we will provide them with the care and facilities they deserve."

    Across the country, legislators have realized that private ownership of dangerous animals is a national public safety threat. State legislation is currently being considered across the country including Washington , Maryland , Arkansas , Iowa , Ohio and Missouri . Although the passage of the Captive Wildlife Safety Act outlawed the selling and shipping of big cats across state lines without permit, there is no federal ban against owning a tiger, lion or another big cat as a pet.

    All Acting Animals (Mitchell, Karl)
    USDA License #88-C-0076
    6941 Oakridge Rd., Pahrump, NV 89048
    
    

    All Acting Animals has failed to meet minimal federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibition as established in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has filed formal charges against All Acting Animals for chronic, serious violations that include failure to provide animals with drinking water, failure to provide wholesome, uncontaminated food, failure to provide shelter from the elements, failure to provide adequate space, and failure to maintain enclosures and for threatening and harassing USDA officials. The USDA has cited All Acting Animals for failure to provide veterinary care and for filthy and unsanitary conditions. Karl Mitchell has been arrested numerous times and charged with burglary, carrying loaded guns in public, assault, felony stalking, auto theft, and evading arrest. The California Fish and Game Department considers Mitchell a danger to both people and animals. Contact PETA for documentation.

    
    Animals in recent inventory: 12 tigers, 2 ligers, a lion, a kangaroo, and a camel.

    February 5, 2001: According to a KLAS-TV Las Vegas, Nevada, news report covering Mitchell's controversial hiring as head of Nye County Animal Control, "California Fish and Game . has seized animals from Mitchell, denied him permits for others, and . characterized him as 'a dangerous person and a serious liability to any person or animal he's involved with.' . [Mitchell has been arrested for] burglary, carrying loaded guns in public, [and] assault. In Nye County, he was busted a dozen times in just six years, for, among other things, pointing a loaded gun at a person and trying to intimidate witnesses. . In a 1996 interview, Mitchell's then-wife . said he started beating her shortly after they were married. The last time, he sent her to a hospital with broken ribs. . Mitchell was busted in Clark County for felony stalking of his estranged wife."
    
    The newscast also stated that Clark County officials reported Mitchell had sewn shut a snake's mouth using a needle and thread-and no anesthesia-to keep the animal's mouth closed during use on a movie set.

    January 18, 2001: The USDA filed charges against All Acting Animals for violating the Animal Welfare Act .

    USDA investigators found that on several occasions, Mitchell had interfered with, threatened, abused, and harassed USDA officials in the performance of their duties. In addition, investigators have documented that Mitchell has failed to:

    · allow officials access to his facilities, animals, and records

    · maintain required records

    · maintain enclosures

    · adequately store supplies of food so as to protect them from deterioration or spoilage

    · provide sufficient shade to protect animals from direct sunlight

    · provide shelter from inclement weather

    · house animals in outdoor facilities with a proper perimeter fence

    · construct perimeter fencing that restricts the entrance of other animals

    · provide animals with sufficient space in which to make normal postural and social adjustments

    · provide food that was wholesome, palatable, and free of contamination

    · provide animals with water as often as necessary for the health and comfort of the animal

    · maintain an effective program for the control of pests

    · properly clean and repair premises

    September 14, 2000: The USDA cited All Acting Animals for failure to correct previously identified violations of not providing adequate shelter from the elements, failure to repair enclosures and fences, and poor housekeeping .
    
    The inspector discussed watering regulations after Mitchell stated that he withholds water as a training technique . This practice may lead to dehydration and cause serious damage to internal organs.

    
    The USDA inspection team requested and received an escort from the Nye County sheriff's office.

    July 24, 2000: The USDA cited All Acting Animals for failure to correct previously identified violations of not providing adequate shelter from the elements, failure to provide minimum space, failure to provide animals with drinking water, filthy conditions, and failure to repair enclosures and fences .
    
    The inspector wrote, "Animals appeared crowded and unable to receive the exercise required for healthy young animals. . Several enclosures had a buildup of old, soiled, and damp straw bedding. . [A]ccess to residence was repeatedly denied by licensee, Karl Mitchell. When asked if animals were in the house, he stated that there were 'no cats in the house that we want to see.'"
    
    All Acting Animals was also cited for giving a kangaroo drinking water that was "totally fouled, red in color, and opaque." The kangaroo enclosure had a buildup of fecal material and soiled straw. A young camel had no ventilated shade to provide relief from heat. All Acting Animals was cited for failure to provide wholesome, palatable, and uncontaminated food and failure to maintain records of acquisition and disposition.
    
    The inspector also noted that Mitchell was instructed to remove a sign identifying the facility as a "USDA Government Facility."
    
    The USDA inspection team requested and received an escort from the Nye County sheriff's office.

    June 29, 2000: The USDA cited All Acting Animals for failure to correct a previously identified violation of refusing access to the premises . The inspector wrote, "Mr. Mitchell denied access to his facility for an inspection on June 29, 2000. He did not provide a reason for not allowing us to inspect. He refused to sign the inspection report and walked away."

    May 16, 2000: The USDA cited All Acting Animals for failure to correct a previously identified violation of not providing animals with adequate shelter from the elements .

    
    A lion named Nala was not provided minimum space. The inspector wrote, " Enclosure has inadequate space as evidenced by poor coat condition and abnormal behavior patterns (i.e., stereotypic pacing) ."

    
    The facility was cited for failure to provide animals with water. The inspector wrote, " When released, [a tiger cub named Valentino] drank thirstily for several minutes ."

    
    The USDA cited All Acting Animals for filthy conditions. The inspector found enclosures with a buildup of fecal material and old, soiled, and damp straw bedding.

    
    All Acting Animals was also cited for failure to provide access to records, enclosures in disrepair, and improper food storage.

    April 11, 2000: The USDA cited All Acting Animals for failure to correct previously identified violations of not providing animals with adequate shelter from the elements and direct sunlight as well as for poor housekeeping .

    
    All Acting Animals was also cited for unsanitary conditions and inadequate pest control.

    January 20, 2000: The USDA cited All Acting Animals for failure to have a responsible person available for inspection. The inspector noted, "Unauthorized public would have easy and immediate access to enclosures housing large exotic felids. . [I]nspector observed enclosures in disrepair and without adequate shelter."

    December 7, 1999: All Acting Animals was cited for failure to provide veterinary care to a lion with a weak and wobbly gait , failure to have a current veterinary care program, failure to maintain records of acquisition and disposition, failure to secure enclosures to prevent unauthorized access, improperly constructed enclosures, failure to provide shelter from the elements, inadequate perimeter fencing, failure to provide a veterinarian-approved diet, and poor housekeeping.

    January 7, 1999: The USDA cited All Acting Animals for failure to have a local veterinarian and failure to provide minimum space to a tiger named Diva.

    June 30, 1998: The USDA cited All Acting Animals for failure to correct the previously identified violations of not properly disposing of food and animal waste and poor housekeeping .

    
    All Acting Animals was also cited for using soiled bedding material, enclosures in need of repair, and a cluttered food preparation area.

    May 13, 1996: All Acting Animals was cited by the USDA for giving animals contaminated drinking water in dirty receptacles, filthy enclosures littered with several days of feces and food waste , failure to adequately train employees, failure to make transport enclosures, program of veterinary care, and acquisition and disposition records available for inspection, inadequate pest control, and grounds and food storage area scattered with trash.

    August 3, 1993: The USDA sent certified mail to All Acting Animals cautioning the facility that its repeated failure to construct a perimeter fence could result in legal action.

    August 1, 1993: According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal , Mitchell acquired two "liger" (tiger and lion crossbreed) cubs from Jordan Circus after they were born on the road. Mitchell claimed that the cubs make "good pets."

    July 13, 1993: The USDA cited All Acting Animals for failure to correct a previously identified violation of not constructing a perimeter fence . The facility was also cited for improper fencing and fencing in disrepair, algae buildup in the tigers' water receptacle, and poor housekeeping.

    July 11, 1990: According to the Las Vegas Sun , Karl Mitchell stored a 5-year-old tiger in a garage for nearly three months. Mitchell was asked to remove the tiger when he failed to provide proof of insurance to the owner of the garage. The tiger was relocated to a bookmobile.

    June 24, 1985: The San Diego Union-Tribune reported, "Following a wild chase, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies booked Karl Mitchell, 33, for investigation of evading arrest, assault against an officer, auto theft, possession of a concealed weapon, damaging a state vehicle, and possessing a tiger without a permit."

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