White Tiger exhibit closed

A small victory was won Tuesday when the Navy Pier in Chicago shut down its Royal White Tiger exhibit. The owner of the tigers, Michael Cook and his company ZooCats Inc., has long been hunted by the USDA for numerous prior violations and has finally had his license revoked due to "willfull violations" of the animal welfare act. The USDA states that ZooCats Inc. trainers did not handle the animals properly. They said that the trainers would often use violent methods such as cattle prods to train and control the animals. Additionally it was found that the animals were not properly fed, illness and injury were not properly cared for and facilities were not kept clean. The USDA also says that trainers were allowing children and spectators to get too close to the tigers, posing serious danger to public welfare. In light of this small victory I say, Hooray! Each time an unscrupulous owner is shut down and their license revoked we are one step closer to putting a stop to tiger inbreeding/overbreeding. These beautiful creatures deserve better. We have to remember that they do not belong in cages to be used for our entertainment. They belong wild and free. We need to spread the message of conservation. These types of exhibits do not donate to, nor promote conservation. They only fool the public in to thinking they are helping keep wild tigers alive by saying that the breeding they are doing is preventing their extinction. The truth is, the tigers bred by these organizations are NOT part of the AZA breeding program. Furthermore, white tigers in particular, are never part of conservation efforts as they are not natural but a result of severe inbreeding. (See my prior article on White Tigers) So folks, please do all you can to spread the word! Let's stop white tiger breeding altogether! If we ban together we can win! FOR THE TIGERS!