Leo DiCaprio Speaks Out for Tony!

Recently, Mr. Leo DiCaprio, a long time wildlife advocate, spoke out in response to the continued neglect and abuse of Tony the Tiger. Mr. DiCaprio commented on his Facebook page and via Twitter that this has to stop now and that we all need to join in the fight to help free Tony. He, along with many others have signed the ALDF's petition to have Michael Sandlin's permit revoked and have Tony placed in a good home. If Mr. DiCaprio, who is so busy, has the time to sign this petition and write a little something about Tony, then don't we all have just a little time for Tony? Speak out now! Let the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries know that we want Mr. Sandlin's permit revoked and Tony moved to a good home, NOW!

And thank you Mr. DiCaprio for your loving support of Tigers and wildlife everywhere!

Sign the petition at:  http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5154/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6207

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all of you! Check out some big cat Easter fun courtesy of Big Cat Rescue:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvw7cjlk8Q4

Don't forget that our big cat friends need our help year round. Donate to a reputable organization or just spread the word about the plight of these beautiful creatures. You can find some good organizations to donate to at the bottom of this page. Remember, don't visit the mall exhibits that feature tiger and lion cubs this Easter! They are strictly for profit, not conservation.

Be safe this Easter!

Petition for Tony

So the Animal Legal Defense Fund has another petition going asking the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to revoke Michael Sandlin's permit to keep Tony the Tiger. Go to http://aldf.org/article.php?id=1675 to sign the petition. Let's help Tony to be free of the fumes and noise that come with living at a truck stop. Let's try to give him a good home for the rest of his life. Sign the petition and help us free Tony.

Free Tony the Tiger!

Tony is a 10 year old Siberian/Bengal tiger used as a roadside attraction at Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete Louisiana. Tony is another example of how serious the problem is of private ownership of tigers in the United States where there are more privately owned tigers then there are left in the wild.

Tony’s owner, Michael Sandlin, has bought, sold, bred, and exhibited tigers for over 20 years. In 2003, because of violations and fines, Mr. Sandlin and the USDA made an agreement where 3 of the 4 tigers he owned, Toby, Khan and Rainbow, were sent to Tiger Haven in Kingston TN. The USDA reduced the fines and allowed Mr. Sandlin to keep one tiger, Tony. This poor tiger is kept in a small cage, near the highway where he paces back and forth wishing for freedom. Tony is terribly thin and obviously distressed. He needs our help. Mr. Sandlin has been begged to allow Big Cat Rescue to take Tony and give him a good home, but Mr. Sandlin insists on keeping him. The only reason this man keeps Tony is for pure profit. Let's let the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries know that we don't want Mr. Sandlin's license to be renewed this year. You can go to http://freetonythetiger.wordpress.com/take-action/ and let them know that we don't want Tony in this cage any longer.

Ringling Brothers Atrocities

This cannot go unnoticed. Ringling Brothers beating elephants. The link below will take you to a website where you can see video of a PETA undercover investigation on how Ringling Brothers staff abuse their elephants and tigers. The video is there on the main page. Please watch it. Beware, this is disturbing and there is some explicit language. There is no reason for the beating and abuse of animals. These images disturbed me and I know I personally will never attend the circus again. Let's try to change the law about circus animals. I would like to see either more strict regulations on animal care, or better still, the removal of animals from the circus. Please speak out now. Let the USDA and the circus know you want this stopped.

http://www.ringlingbeatsanimals.com/

Another Mall Exhibit

So it's happening again. Another mall is allowing a pay for play session. We have to get the word out that this is not good for the cats. It doesn't conserve the species and it isn't good for the cubs or the mothers. These cubs are ripped from their mothers before their eyes are open so that they can get used to being handled by people. This causes undue stress to the cubs and the mother. Then they are kept in tiny cages in the back of trailers and are carted around from one mall to another just to be used like a side show act, and all in the name of conservation. Please speak out and let the Lincoln Mall know that you don't want them to allow this exhibit. Go to http://www.catlaws.com/ to let the mall managers know how you feel. The form is pre-written, all you have to do is put in your name and they will do all the e-mailing for you.

Tiger Information

• Wild tigers are being directly hunted to meet the demands of the illegal wildlife trade market. Tiger parts are consumed for traditional medicinal purposes across Asia, with a heavy demand in China. The international illegal trade in wildlife products is a booming business, and is estimated to yield more than $6 billion a year.
• Not only are tigers hunted, but their wild prey, like deer and wild pigs, have been overhunted by people either for subsistence or for sale.  A depleted prey base means that tigers will often attack livestock to feed themselves and their cubs, thus fueling human-tiger conflict.
• Due to an increasing human population, humans and tigers are living in close proximity in many places across their range, which far too often results in human-tiger conflict situations. Wild tigers are frequently persecuted when villagers take retaliatory measures to protect their livestock.
• Tigers need intact habitat in order to survive but their habitat is increasingly under threat and either being destroyed or fragmented from agricultural developments, especially large monocultures like palm oil plantations.

I found this information from an organization that is doing great work by trying to preserve the Tiger's natural habitat and encouraging humans to stop the poaching of Tigers and destruction of their habitat. Go to http://www.panthera.org/ to help support their efforts.

Helping the Tiger

"Of all the big cats, the Tiger is the closest to extinction. Today, more Tigers exist in the state of Texas than do in the wild in Asia." (sited from Panthera.org) This is the truth folks. Sadly, far too many of these great cats are locked in cages right here in my home state! The source of the atrocity is the breeder of tigers. The people who breed tigers actually try to claim that they are doing so for conservation efforts. This is not true. Conservation starts in the wild. Breeding tigers in cages only creates tigers that must be kept in cages their whole lives. If you have read my previous blog you will know about the "generic" tiger loophole. This allows breeders to keep breeding tigers despite the fact that they are not actually providing any conservation of the species because they are not breeding purebred tigers. One way to help the tiger survive is to begin with preserving their natural habitat. Panthera and Wildlife Conservation Society are trying to do just that. They have created a program called Tigers Forever, which is being carried out in six countries. Its mission is to mitigate and eliminate the human threats to the tiger and its prey and to monitor the tiger population. If you would like to help in their efforts please go to http://www.panthera.org/. And remember, spread the word about what you read here because when one person changes it begins a domino effect.... then we can all begin to change the way we think and feel about saving our big cats.