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Private Property of a Truck Stop
Tony the Tiger at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana
Just over 3,000 tigers remain
Tiger Population Plummeting
The tiger population has plunged 95% in the last century and there are perhaps just over 3,000 remaining on the entire planet. Two stories are presented in the video below.
First, there is Tony the Tiger at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana. Tony is "privately owned" and caged for a commercial venture. Carole Baskin, founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue, advocates rescuing Tony from lifetime captivity. Michael Sandlin, President of Tiger Truck Stop, counters, "...every American should have the right to own an animal of their choice".
Second, there is the Buddhist Tiger Temple in Thailand, Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua Temple on the River Kwai, which cages not only tigers but other animals for tourists. Jane Garrison, an animal welfare advocate, describes tourists having their photo taken with drugged tigers. Almost one hundred tigers are kept in "tiny, barren cages" with inadequate provision (water, food, medical). Garrison maintains these tigers are part of the illegal "tiger parts" trade and it is a "horrific scene". Tourists, by visiting the Tiger Temple, are in effect supporting a 'lifetime of torture" for these caged tigers. The Thailand Department of National Parks says they have carried out a thorough investigation and found no evidence of involvement in illicit trade or maltreatment of the tigers. Garrison counters that Care for the Wild (CWI) says up to 75 tigers have "disappeared" from the facility and the Tiger Temple keeps renaming the tigers the same name.
(CNN) Experts say the world's tiger population has plummeted 95 percent in the last century. HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell reports.
The Bengal tiger, or Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
Links
Please visit and support the efforts of the organizations below!
Free Tony the Tiger! (Blog)
Tiger Conservation: Why It Will Work (Video) *Fighting the Forces of Extinction* (Mountain Seer)
Save Tigers Now (WWF)
Tiger (Wikipedia)
Thanks for your post about the report on Tony and the tigers of Tiger Temple from Issues with JVM and for including the link to Tony's blog. Tony represents one of thousands of privately owned tigers in the United States whose numbers are greater than tigers in the wild. Captive U.S. tigers are used in roadside zoos and attractions, photo ops and exhibitions, entertainment shows, pseudo-sanctuaries, bred for profit or are owned as pets. Others end up in canned hunts or on the black market. Take action for Tony at Big Cat Rescue - Tampa FL's action alert http://www.capwiz.com/bigcatrescue/issues/alert/?alertid=19391501&type=ML
ReplyDeleteHello Dee: You are welcome. To me, Tony's situation is very sad. I applaud your efforts! All the Best, Mountain Seer
ReplyDeleteCan only say to every one: Boycott this Truck Stop!Don`t stop or buy anything there until tiger Tony is free!
ReplyDelete@ Mountain Seer, please feel free to post news and updates from Tony, you´ve got, on my Truck Stop Boycott page for Tony on fb. Here in Germany more and more people going on to be interessted on his bad fate, and want to take action for him.
Greetings from Germany
Thorsten Kassebeer
Technically every human is an animal.
ReplyDeleteSo, using Michael Sandlin's reasoning;
Every Al-Qaeda member has the right to own at least one American.
But he would be to arrogant and ignorant to understand the point.