by: Care2 Team
recipient: Texas Legislature and Governor
Last week, a Houston man decided to break into an abandoned house so he could have a little privacy to smoke some weed. But before he took his first puff he was already tripping. There, right before his eyes, he saw something he couldn’t believe — a young male tiger.
Luckily for the unnamed smoker, the tiger was in a cage so he wasn’t in any immediate danger. On the other hand, the situation didn’t look so good for the tiger itself. When rescuers arrived, they saw that the tiger was in an enclosure much too small for his size, and the room wreaked of ammonia from the animal’s waste and he was thirsty. Other than that he looked to be in good shape.
Of course, the real question is what is a tiger — native to Asia — doing in the middle of Texas in the first place? The answer may shock you, while it is illegal to own a Tiger in Houston, it isn’t illegal in the state of Texas. In fact, according to some estimates, Texas has the second highest tiger population in the world – after the entire nation of India. In the Lone Star state, any Tom, Dick or Mary can fill out a few papers, comply with minimum standards of care and safety and walk away with a certificate of registration that allows them to keep a tiger as a pet — one that will live an unfulfilling life.
And it’s not just tigers. Unbelievably, according to Texas’s dangerous animal registration laws, any registered person can own lions, tigers, bobcats, bears, coyotes, hyenas, jackals, leopards, cheetahs, cougars, ocelots, jaguars, lynxes, servals, caracals, baboons, chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas. That’s right, someone can have a gorilla in their backyard!
Wild animal ownership isn’t just cruel, it puts the lives of both the animal and the people at risk. There are countless stories of big cats that have escaped their enclosure and killed innocent bystanders or ones that have had to be put down by law enforcement once they are on the loose.
The state of Texas is being negligent by allowing ordinary citizens the opportunity to own dangerous animals. And they will be responsible for the deaths of innocent bystanders or the helpless animals themselves.
It’s time to end wild animal ownership in Texas. Please sign the petition and demand that the state ban this practice today.
photo credit: BARC
Sign Petition
99,586 supporters
Krystal D.
British Columbia
a minute ago
send
Linda L.
North Carolina
a minute ago
send
Robin B.
Florida
a minute ago
send
Janet M.
Arizona
a minute ago
send
Cheryl A.
Michigan
a minute ago
send
Nichole M.
Wisconsin
2 minutes ago
send
louis k.
California
2 minutes ago
send
name not displayed
Maryland
2 minutes ago
silvana a.
Argentina
2 minutes ago
send
Samai T.
Bolivia
2 minutes ago
send
sara l.
Belgium
2 minutes ago
send
Barbara P.
Argentina
2 minutes ago
send
Lynne C.
Pennsylvania
2 minutes ago
send
CARMEN G.
Mexico
2 minutes ago
send
Yannick H.
France
2 minutes ago
send
Maureen G.
United Kingdom
2 minutes ago
send
Teresa F.
Portugal
2 minutes ago
send
Debra R.
Ontario
3 minutes ago
This is obscene that these wild animals are forced to live such unnatural lives in squalid conditions.
send
Katrine Edvardsen S.
Norway
3 minutes ago
send
Lynda A.
Manitoba
3 minutes ago
send
Ricardo D.
Ecuador
3 minutes ago
send
Ila R.
Minnesota
3 minutes ago
send
Diana B.
New York
3 minutes ago
Tigers belong in the wild, not in Texas!
send
Daniela C.
Romania
3 minutes ago
send
George W.
Oregon
3 minutes ago
send
James M.
New Mexico
4 minutes ago
send
Kiana B.
Massachusetts
4 minutes ago
send
Mariam B.
Illinois
4 minutes ago
send
Valeria Pires S.
Brazil
4 minutes ago
send
Shirley S.
Arizona
4 minutes ago
send
Paula E.
Ireland
4 minutes ago
send
Lilith W.
New Zealand
4 minutes ago
send
John K.
Minnesota
4 minutes ago
send
Annette C.
California
4 minutes ago
send
Daniela N.
Switzerland
5 minutes ago
send
Lorraine C.
United Kingdom
5 minutes ago
send
Margaret M.
Spain
5 minutes ago
send
Deb L.
Iowa
5 minutes ago
send
Jean N.
Illinois
5 minutes ago
send
Jennifer W.
Florida
5 minutes ago
send
Fariba D.
California
5 minutes ago
send
Pam T.
Maryland
6 minutes ago
send
Kristen R.
California
6 minutes ago
send
Faith Q.
New York
6 minutes ago
send
Sonja N.
California
6 minutes ago
send
David W.
California
6 minutes ago
send
Marianne K.
Ontario
6 minutes ago
send
Chelsa S.
Nova Scotia
6 minutes ago
send
Ottavio M.
Italy
6 minutes ago
send
ANA G.
Mexico
6 minutes ago
send
Ronald G.
Washington
6 minutes ago
send
Sign Petition