

According to the World Wildlife Fund, around 3,890 tigers are left in the wild-a drop of 97 percent over the last hundred years-living in 13 countries including India, Indonesia, and China. In the U.S., however, the estimated number of tigers kept in private captivity hovers around 7,000. Only about 400 are in accredited zoos, with the rest in roadside attractions, private menageries, or kept by backyard breeders. Seven states have no laws at all on owning wild animals. “There’s no way of knowing the true extent of the problem, since no single agency tracks who keeps tigers,” says Debbie Leahy, manager of captive wildlife protection for the Humane Society of the United States. “Injuries are inevitable,” adds Reeves, “when you put inexperienced people into direct contact with wild, big cats.”Ī Kansas man, for example, kept tigers and lions in his junkyard, housed in rickety cages.
Tiger has gone home series#
In 2009 when a friend agreed to help the owner at feeding time, one of the animals shredded his arm.Īuthorities arrived at the surreal scene and set in motion a series of events that are becoming more commonplace: a hurriedly placed call to a rescue organization a pitiful, dangerous collection process a new and daunting quest for proper shelter.

In the Chicago suburb of Lockport in 2014, police arrested a man walking to a bar with a tiger cub on a six-foot leash. A New York City man kept a tiger named Ming in his apartment until it attacked him in 2003 he told doctors that his pit bull bit him, but police eventually discovered the tiger when neighbors complained.
