VMany would have thought the call, which the San Antonio police received in early February 2021, was a hoax. A resident of the southwestern Texas city reported that a tiger was roaming through her garden. The officers called the Animal Care Services zookeepers and drove to the address on Elk Runner Street, a rather quiet residential area. The tiger, actually native to Asian rain forests and swamps, had now disappeared.
When searching for the big cat, the police finally came across a neighbor of the caller. He said he borrowed the tiger from a friend to show family. During the visit, the animal jumped over the garden fence and escaped. However, the Texan managed to recapture the tiger and bring it back to his friend. The man, the Texan let officials know, keeps several of the big cats at home.
Wild population continues to decline
Tigers as pets are not uncommon in the United States. According to conservative estimates, almost 8,000 of the big cats live in American houses, gardens or improvised petting zoos. According to nature conservation organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the wild population in Asia is said to have shrunk to almost 4,000 tigers (Panthera tigris).
The fact that the big cats – as recently seen in the Netflix series “Tiger King – Big Cats and their Predators” – are often kept under less species-appropriate conditions goes back to previously lax and confusing laws. Although 35 American states actually ban big cats as pets, they allow a multitude of exceptions. In the other states, so-called backyard tigers are allowed with conditions. In contrast, Nevada, Alabama, North Carolina and Wisconsin have no regulations on big cats in private homes. Oklahoma, where “Tiger King” Joe Exotic ran the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, has also issued permits for keeping tigers, lions and other big cats for relatively small amounts.
Cub petting is also to be banned
Big cats outside of recognized zoos are now likely to be over in the United States. After decades of protests by animal rights activists, the Senate in Washington passed the first nationwide bill banning tigers as pets last week. The Big Cat Public Safety Act, which passed the House of Representatives in July, also bans visitors from direct contact with big cats. “Cub petting”, stroking young animals for a fee, makes up the bulk of the income for many private keepers.
In the past, American animal rights activists had not only drawn attention to the degrading living conditions of the “Cubs” in cramped cages and the wrong diet. Again and again they had warned of the dangers of big cats. As the animal protection organization Humane Society researched, 19 adults and five children have been fatally injured by tigers, lions or other big cats since 1990. A few hundred Americans lost hands, arms, or legs when attacked by the predators. “Big cats are wild animals. They should not be forced into a life of captivity where they will be used for entertainment purposes,” said Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley.
HR 263 is now awaiting Joe Biden’s signature. It is considered certain that the American President will support the bill. The Democrat had already announced in the summer that he wanted to protect “all wild animals in captivity”.