Canis lupus hominis

Posted in wildlife | Tagged Amur tiger, Siberian tiger, tiger, tiger kills owner | 11 Comments

11 Responses

1. on January 11, 2010 at 5:55 pm Bill

   You are so intolerant.

   It’s all how you raise them. Besides, dogs attack more people every year, but the media chooses to ignore those stories.

   My tiger is a big goofy baby, he would never attack anyone.

   
   
   • on January 11, 2010 at 8:22 pm Jen

     really? i think the media has a field day with ‘pitbull’ attacks

     
     
     • on January 11, 2010 at 8:25 pm retrieverman

       I think they should have a field day when a pet tiger kills someone.

       
       
     • on January 11, 2010 at 9:53 pm Bill

       Actually Jen, you are right. I think pitbull attacks have also been sensationalized by the media, most of whom who woudn’t know a pure-bred pit if it bit them on the ____. They just see some fighting dog breed demostrating the proper amount of natural gameness, and label it a “pitbull”. Unfair, really.

       I wish there was some organization (or alliance of organizations) that would work to show the public that nearly all pitbulls and pet tigers are wonderful family pets. I would think that owners of a few other unfairly maligned animals may want to join our cause (chimps, scorpions, Presa Canario etc.)

       
       
2. on January 11, 2010 at 7:43 pm HTTrainer

   Stupid kills, not often enough.

   
   
   • on January 11, 2010 at 7:48 pm retrieverman

     If only we were still hunter-gatherers, the stupid ones wouldn’t make it.

     
     
3. on January 12, 2010 at 3:30 am Peggy Richter

   I don’t really care if the tiger killed it’s owner. It would be the same if the guy were into doing “Evel Knievel” motorcyle stunts or extreme skiing or into climbing Mt Everest on his own. People who are into doing highly risky things have a right, IMO, to earn the Darwin Award. The problem here was that the tiger had previously injured someone ELSE. Where the owner’s stupidity or “I’m invulnerable” complex puts OTHERS at risk, they should be prosecuted for reckless endangerment. If people want to have dinner with a pet bear or invite a hippo into their house, that’s their right. Their right ends when that hippo gets out of the yard or they call someone to help them control their manic chimp. I don’t want to see laws passed stating “you can’t own this” or “you can’t own that” because it might hurt you. I do want to see laws that make the owner responsible for their property (their animal) and their own personal actions. VR, Peggy Richter.

   
   
   • on January 12, 2010 at 3:48 am retrieverman

     I originally thought that way about those laws, but I think it requires a certain level of training and investment to properly keep a tiger, a bear, a reticulated python, or a king cobra. They have to be very strictly licensed. Bans have worked in some states. In others, the bans have resulted in releases, which is the exact opposite of what you want.

     I’m fine that we can’t keep giant African land snails in North America, even though the chances of them going feral in my part of the country are very, very low. In Florida, they became a great agricultural pest.

     
     
4. on January 12, 2010 at 6:25 pm Lane Batot

   Being a zookeeper, I am constantly bombarded with both sides of this issue. I really don’t like the OUTLAW EVERYTHING “exotic” stance, which makes me very unpopular with other “politically correct” zookeepers! Yeah, it’s easy for zookeepers to feel strongly this way, since their jobs already allow them the wonderful privelege of having those incredibly special relationships with some amazing critters! But what about everyone else? A lot of endangered animals have actually been saved by private exotic animal owners, and I have seen some exotic owners who give their animals BETTER captive facilities than good zoos do!. HOWEVER, the exotic animal trade is OUT OF CONTROL, and for every good owner, there are a zillion horror stories of people without a clue, who create tragic scenarios that ALWAYS end bad for the animal, regardless of the humans mauled and killed as well! So I am all for STRICTER controls, liscencing, etc. I think people who wish to keep potentially dangerous critters REALLY NEED to take some kind of course and get certified, and then allow periodic inspections of their facilities to ensure they are keeping up the standards. The really good owners do this stuff on their own already, so shouldn’t mind stricter controls to weed out the impulsive and unrealistic “starry-eyed” lion/tiger/bear/chimp-huggers that can’t imagine their Bo-Bo would ever be in a bad mood one day and take their scalp off with one swipe! Or literally kill them dead as doornails just playing with them!(Ooops! I broke the human!). Also, with some species, there is a REAL danger of severly destroying wild populations to supply the pet trade, and anyone conscientiously thinking of getting anything exotic needs to do their homework and be sure they get captive bred stock, or be POSITIVE their animal REALLY WAS an abandoned orphan, etc…..L.B.

   
   
5. on January 13, 2010 at 2:07 am Peggy Richter

   I’d concur with having some kind of licensing and /or training if only there were some clear standard. With exotic animals you have one group (PETA/HSUS) asserting that any elephant that isn’t free-roaming is abused, on the other you have morons that think it’s ok to keep a lion in a NY apartment. I think it would be helpful to have standardized training/care information “tigers can clear 11′ fences” — but they need to be enforced for everyone (the San Francisco zoo being in mind here) — and they also need to be reasonable. At the current point in time, there are so many extremists on both camps (I can have anything I want, even if I dump it in the nearest national forest if it annoys me // keeping cows is cruel and they should all be set free). Too many rules or laws get passed based on emotional feel-good rather than dispassionate science or even caring careful comprehensive study (California’s new law on chickens being a case in point). I’d rather have the information out there — if you keep a bear, here’s what to know — and then hold the owner responsible for their animal.
   VR, Peggy Richter.

   
   
6. on January 13, 2010 at 2:10 am flattie-n-Labbie

   If it has the potential to be higher than me on the food chain, I think I’d like to see it regulated when it’s on my territory…

   Can’t run fast regards,

   
   

Comments are closed.