Tigers in a petting zoo, enclosure question?

Question

I visited a petting zoo with my daughter today, and I was talking to a guy (not sure if it was the owner) and he was saying how he was going to be getting a couple of tigers for the zoo. I asked him about the enclosure and if they would be in the cage all the time or if they would have space to roam freely outside.. he said they would not have access outside of the cage, and I said don't they need room to run and he said that he would walk them before and after the zoo closes(which I thought was pretty strange - they're tigers not dogs). With large animals like tigers is it legal to not allow them access outside of their cage?

Answer 1

kind of they have to stay in the zoo but they are aloud out of there cages by law but the owner dosnt have to.

Answer 2

Probably not your worry.

I'd bet that in your state, he'll have to get a permit to keep these exotic animals ($$$ annual fee), and to keep a "threatened species" he'd have to also have inspections.

Having tigers in a petting zoo is kind of strange, though.  Kids shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a tiger.

Answer 3

I think either he's pulling your leg, or he's nuts.

Don't worry too much.  Tigers are highly regulated in civilized society. He'll never get one under the circumstances you describe, and if he did, it would be confiscated the first day.

Answer 4

Wow they keep tigers in a petting zoo? Um I don't think it's illegal. They might hurt someone if they are let loose. And I think because tigers are partially endangered then it is fine. They're actually helping the tiger population by breeding them and everything

Answer 5

A tiger in a  petting zoo?!?!?!?  What an absolutely TERRIBLE idea & not a good idea for SO many reasons!!! Even experienced, trained professionals get injured/killed by tigers they've known for years (let alone little kids), and the animal is usually the one to pay the ultimate price--with their life--when something goes wrong.  People really need to stop thinking of them as pets.  The pet trade has contributed to the demise of wild populations of many species worldwide.  And as for the genetics of it, the wild populations are harmed when (usually wealthy) people take them from the wild (many times adults are killed so people can buy the young orphaned animals for their private "collections"), & the THOUSANDS of captive tigers already alive don't often have well documented pedigrees, so zoos (which now only trade animals among themselves, rather than taking them from the wild) can't use them for the species survival programs they implement.  

Many animals are later abandoned in little cages or killed when the animals reach their adult size and strength.  Too few make it into refuges where they can live a somewhat natural life, & many of these facilities barely raise enough money (they're usually all privately funded) to make it, let alone take in more abused/abandoned animals.  It's just morally & ethically wrong to think they're just big housecats, & people are too blind or stupid to acknowledge it.

Don't forget how cruel it is to put an animal whose natural habitat is hundreds or thousands of acres into a little box.

Answer 6

the guy you were talking to was probably a: Pathological Liar/Lie Addict.  it is impossible to walk a tiger/s freely on a leash.  and whether its legal or not to keep them in cages constantly, I don't know. I do know its illegal to keep them as pets, if thats what he said he was going to do.  It is also exceptionally cruel to keep them in cages or small enclosures. they need acres of room to run and move.

Answer 7

Just kinda to add to what other people have said:

It may depend on the age of the tigers and how use they are to humans.  In other countries (not U.S.) some zoos actually take tiger cubs out to walk around the zoo with visitors there.  But if you have questions about the U.S., I suggest contacting your state department of natural resources (may not be called that ...maybe called department of wildlife and fisheries resources) and ask them questions.