Truck Stop is NO Place for Tigers !!

jburleigh@ibervilleparish.com, mdavidson@wlf.louisiana.gov

J. Mitchell Ourso, Iberville Parish President
Maria Davidson, Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries


Dear Mrs. Davidson,
Dear Mr. Ourso,

Tony, the Siberian Bengal tiger, sadly resides at Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, LA, as an attraction for his owner Michael Sandlin. Previously, Sandlin had violated a public ordinance that prevents people from owning and displaying wild/exotic animals. This also kept the state's Wildlife and Fishery Dept. from granting him a permit to own Tony. When they gave Sandlin 30 days to find Tony a new home, he instead filed a lawsuit.

Iberville Parish Council chose to amend the ordinance to legalize keeping a tiger, instead of enforcing their own laws. So, Tony isn't going anywhere.

Tony's champions, including Care2 member Sky Williamson, have joined forces with Big Cat Rescue to move Tony to their accredited wildlife preserve... Williamson, who stumbled upon the truck stop in 2005, says, "It took me down to my knees. There were 15 big trucks lined up nearby, all of them running. The smell was horrid. There was feces all over the cage."

Sandlin has 20 years worth of USDA violations including unsanitary feeding practices, mishandling tigers, failure to provide clean water, adequate shelter, veterinary care...and most recently (2007), failure to clean cages and maintain adequate sanitation.

The ordinance was amended with conditions that Sandlin improve Tony's living space. However, Williamson says he's only repainted Tony's cage... Louisiana Wildlife and Fishery Department has not issued Sandlin a permit, so he may keep Tony in these wretched conditions indefinitely.

Sincerely,