Petition Filed to Prevent the Renewal of Permit for Tiger Kept in Inhumane Conditions at Truck Stop

Petition Filed to Prevent the Renewal of Permit for Tiger Kept in Inhumane Conditions at Truck Stop

Animal Legal Defense Fund Urges Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to Revoke Illegal Permit for “Tony” at Iberville Parish’s Tiger Truck Stop

Case Update:
April 11, 2011: The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and its secretary Robert Barham, arguing that he violated state law in granting a permit allowing Michael Sandlin to Tony at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, La.

December 16, 2010: The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries granted a renewal of Michael Sandlin’s permit to keep Tony. Sandlin is the owner of the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, La., where Tony is kept in unnatural confinement and is subjected to noise and diesel fumes 24 hours a day.

In November, ALDF filed a petition with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, arguing that Sandlin’s permit is in violation of state and local ordinances. Rest assured that ALDF is continuing to investigate our legal options with regards to Tony’s case. Sign up for email updates from ALDF to stay tuned on our ongoing work to free Tony.

November 22, 2010
BATON ROUGE, La. – This morning, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) filed a petition with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, requesting that they revoke, and deny renewal of, the permit allowing Michael Sandlin to exhibit a male Siberian tiger named Tony at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, La. Tony has been on exhibit at the truck stop since 2000; he has lived there with no other tiger companions since 2003, when the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) seized three other tigers from Sandlin due to violations of the Animal Welfare Act.




Why are attorneys and activists up in arms about Tony’s tenure at the Tiger Truck Stop? In addition to being subjected to noise and diesel fumes 24-hours a day, Tony is also subjected to frequent harassment and taunting by visitors at the truck stop. His enclosure is devoid of adequate enrichment, such as logs, trees, or complex vegetation that would allow him to engage in natural tiger behaviors. He has no pool of water large enough to allow him to submerge himself to cool off in the blazing heat of the summer. As a result of confinement, Tony exhibits neurotic pacing behavior on the hard concrete surface of his enclosure, putting him at risk for dangerous and painful veterinary conditions. Sandlin, the owner of Tony and the truck stop, has been cited by the USDA due to violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including a lack of proper sanitation and improper feeding practices.

ALDF’s petition (PDF)http://www.aldf.org/downloads/tony_tiger_petition_nov222010.pdf argues that Sandlin’s existing permit for Tony, which is up for annual renewal on December 14, 2010, is in violation of both state and Iberville Parish ordinances. Further, the petition argues that the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has no legal authority under Louisiana law to issue a permit for Sandlin’s possession of Tony, and that the Department’s granting of his current permit was unlawful.

“Mr. Sandlin’s failure to keep Tony in an environment that is responsive to both his physical and psychological needs is not only inhumane—it is illegal” says ALDF Executive Director Stephen Wells. “We urge the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to comply with already-existing regulations designed to protect tigers like Tony, and to end his daily torment by refusing to sentence him to another year of diesel fumes, harassment, and the unimaginable suffering of life in his lonely cage.”

http://www.aldf.org/article.php?id=1533