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SUMMARY
It took 2 million
years for the tiger to evolve into the biggest and most
majestic cat in the world. In 1900 there were 100,000 tigers
in the wild now only 3,000 remain. A tragic loss by any
measure but many people are aware of it.
What people are
not aware of is how many tigers exist in this country today.
In 1900 the U.S had 50 tigers held by exhibitors, with the
advent of zoos and circuses their population increased to a
few hundred in the 1950s. The population stabilized in the
1960s when TV and movies lured audiences away zoos and
circuses. But in the 1970s tigers became popular, beginning
with tiger acts in Las Vegas and tigers appearing on
television variety and talk shows. Animal Training became a
profession. Tigers were used in advertising and as celebrity
ornaments, the idea of exotic pet ownership took hold with
people believing you could buy and care for these cats.
The tiger
population in this country grew from a few hundred to 5,000
today.
Zoos, Circuses
and Sanctuaries have about 500, the remaining 4,500 are owned
by Breeders who breed and sell the cubs, Exhibitors who show
them, Dealers who collect the old cats and deliver them to
Dead Zoos that butcher them for parts or ranches where they
are killed in canned hunts. And some are owned by private
individuals who keep them as pets.
There are more
tigers in captivity in America than tigers that exist in the
wild.
These tigers were
not captured in the wild and imported, They were bred here and
will remain here for the rest of their lives. They are mixed
breeds derived mainly from Bengal and Siberian ancestors and
referred to as "generic tigers" and have no conservation value
and are not regulated by the customary government agencies.
This loophole in the law allows these tigers to be bred,
bought, sold and destroyed without being recorded. The generic
tiger classification along with commercial demand is what
drives the tiger breeding farms and has led to this over
population
There is no wildlife habitat in the US for
them and no possibility of introducing them back into the wild
because they have been hand fed since they were two days old
and are not able to hunt for food. Zoos will not take them because
they are generic. No one wants or can afford to feed them.
They have no place to go.
The vast majority
live in small, concrete and chain link prison cells in
conditions that most people would find
deplorable. Many die prematurely of disease, neglect,
starvation, being put down when no longer wanted, or shot and
dismembered for their parts.
This is an
American problem of animal abuse, not a wildlife conservation
problem.
Copyright © Tigers in America
2011
All Rights Reserved
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