Tiger Gets Loose in Houston

Smaggledagle

Smaggledagle

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
On May 9th, 2021, a tiger, most likely a pet Bengal tiger, escaped from his owner's house and was just roaming the streets. Another man who had the "I don't want to deal with this ****" energy, draws his gun and plans to shoot the tiger, only for the owner to grab the tiger by the collar.

This is one of the most American things I've heard of and I dislike it.

Tiger roaming Houston street leads to tense confrontation
 
I mean I read online that a ton of neighbors saw it and ran over with firearms. Nothing more Texas than a pet tiger and everyone having a gun. I mean I don't blame the neighbors. I wish my state would ban tigers as pets, but sadly they don't care. I fear it won't happen until someone dies.
 
The gun bothers me more than the tiger. Loads of fatalities from gun ownership, almost none from tigers.
 
birdsandbats said:
As discussed in another thread, this bill will probably only hinder legitimate facilities while still allowing private individuals to keep big cats.
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I respectfully disagree with you. That is your opinion and plenty of experts in the field believe change is needed and this bill would be helpful with that. Will it end private ownership completely no. But considering states like Texas have inaction, while public opinion is clearly against this kind of ownership, something needs to be done.
 
FBBird said:
The gun bothers me more than the tiger. Loads of fatalities from gun ownership, almost none from tigers.
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Well considering their are 300 million guns in the nation and a few thousand tigers, obviously their is gonna be more fatalities. At the same time proportionately its likely a different story. Does not mean that both issues are not policy problems that need addressing. They truly are, although most Americans including myself likely have different views than people from other nations about having a firearm, even if we want some reform.
 
This story has gotten even crazier o_O The owner was wanted for murder, and fled with the tiger in his truck. He was eventually found, but at that point he no longer had the animal, so police are still trying to find the tiger. Houston Police Seek Tiger, Murder Suspect

(And wow, he was renting?! Imagine moving into a "no pets allowed" rental with a tiger, some monkeys, and supposedly a bear)
 
@nczoofan The Big Cat Public Safety Act is an effort by extremists and will harm legitimate facilities (I know because I am personal friends with the founder of a very pro-conservation facility that is adamantly opposed to this bill). It is also unnecessary. The claims of thousands of pet tigers are an absurdity. If it were true we would read about stories like this all the time. Of course we don't and the reason they make news on the rare occasion they do happen is because of their rarity.
 
Arizona Docent said:
@nczoofan The Big Cat Public Safety Act is an effort by extremists and will harm legitimate facilities (I know because I am personal friends with the founder of a very pro-conservation facility that is adamantly opposed to this bill). It is also unnecessary. The claims of thousands of pet tigers are an absurdity. If it were true we would read about stories like this all the time. Of course we don't and the reason they make news on the rare occasion they do happen is because of their rarity.
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I’m gonna side with USFWS on this one. Their are almost certainly thousands of big cats in private ownership. Pets a subjective word but I mean their are what 450 tigers in AZA zoos. The rest are a mix of non-aza zoos, private individuals (some reputable, many not), and breeders. Thats just for tigers. I don’t know of data on other cats. I would dispute the assertion that its just being pushed by extremists. I mean we hear that kind of scare tactic on here every time we talk about zoo regulation.

I mean the European members on here are probably shocked at our lack of regulation on many matters. Like the USDA has barely any power at the current moment to remove animals from bad situations and therefore allows this cycle to continue. But looking specifically at this bill, people in other threads on here were freaking out about it, and some even voicing support for cub petting. As well people were looking at the text of the bill, without the understanding that USDA will implement the bill. This process would most certainly involve a lot of lobbying by zoo bodies, to make sure the text does not infringe upon legitimate purposes. The way it’s written will give them a fair amount of discretion to define the clauses within it and implement them.
 
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