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10 News Investigators raise questions about Big Cat Rescue transparency

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 06:44:00 +0000

8:34 AM, Sep 30, 2011

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Mike Deeson

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10 News Imvestigators addresses questions being asked about a $5 million non-profit that says it rescues abandoned and abused large cats.

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Tampa, Florida — It is a high-profile non-profit known for rescuing abused and abandoned tigers, lions and other large cats. But critics say Big Cat Rescue built its reputation by doing some of the same things it criticizes others for doing.

The organization says it is completely transparent, but a 10 News investigation shows that does not appear to be true.
Big Cat Rescue is close to being a $5 million Tampa organization that calls itself the world’s largest accredited sanctuary for exotic wild cats.
Joe Schreibvogel says the organization is great at tugging on people’s heartstrings.
“People love to help animals, because they touch their hearts.”
It’s clear that animal lovers who hear about the sanctuary are impressed. Last year, the sanctuary took in more than $1 million in grants and contributions to take care of the cats.
Schreibvogel, who owns his own zoo in Oklahoma, has issues with Big Cat Rescue and is involved in a lawsuit against the organization.
Big Cat Rescue says the animals they take in have been abandoned and neglected and say they are on a mission to save them. They believe the only way to end the abuse and neglect is to end the trading and breeding of big cats.
Schreibvogel says that the breeding and trading of animals is exactly what Big Cat Rescue did.
“Most of the cats weren’t rescued. They were bought or they were bred at the facility. My biggest concern is, in the animal world, the misrepresentation as far as an animal sanctuary gives us all a bad name.”
Schreibvogel isn’t without his own critics, however, and they point to a $25,000 fine he received from the United States Department of Agriculture. Schreibvogel admits he received the fine when he first started out and he didn’t know what he was doing.
However, he is correct about the cats being bought at the organization.
According to records the 10 News Investigators obtained from the United State Department Agricultural, up until 10 years ago cat after cat at the sanctuary was either bought by or born at Big Cat Rescue.
We asked Schreibvogel why someone would buy cats or breed cats and then tell people they were rescuing them?
“Well it’s a multimillion dollar business to have a so-called ‘save things’ and it tugs on heartstrings from people all over the world,” says Schreibvogel.
Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin wouldn’t talk to us on camera, but her own video admits she did start out doing just that.
“[At the time] It made perfect sense to me that these animals needed to be bred,” says Baskin.
Baskin adds she saw the light and hasn’t bought or bred an animal in 10 years, but it was not entirely bad that she did it.
“We know from the inside out why those people are doing what they are doing.”
Big Cat Rescue says it is transparent, yet they refused to be evaluated by the Better Business Bureau standard for charity accountability.
“When you first go [to Big Cat Rescue], you’re so excited. You’re going to get up close and personal with these magnificent animals and you really aren’t paying attention to what is going on,” says former volunteer Deborah Sandlin.
Sandlin at first thought the CEO was committed to rescuing abused cats, but she changed her opinion the longer she worked there.
“In fact, she was a private owner who found a way to get the public to finance her collection,” says Sandlin.
Big Cat rescue has also had some run-ins with the USDA. The facility was cited in September 2010 and again in March of 2011 for having “either limbs or materials in the fenced-in area that would make it easy for an animal to climb and jump over the fence.” Remember, BRC has 25,000 visitors a year.
The USDA also said “the fence wasn’t constructed to protect the animals from unauthorized people getting to them.”
Critics say Baskin, who they call a master marketer, exaggerates what the organization is doing, how she acquired the cats, and the condition they were in when she brought them to Big Cat Rescue. They say Baskin is routinely trapped in her own lies.
For example, Baskin once described on video how a tiger cub named Shere Kan was raised.
“He was bottle raised in a loving and nurturing home,” Baskin is heard saying on the video.
But her website stated just the opposite:
He never got the vitamins and exercise he needed as a growing cub, so his back legs were badly underdeveloped. He was very sick for a long time and suffered major problems from calcium deficiency. X-rays showed that his baby canine teeth were rotting in their sockets from his malnourishment and they had to be excised because they had rotted through his face.
“I think she believes what she says, she does,” says Sandlin.
In an e-mail the 10 News Investigators obtained, Baskin realized she was being hypocritical staging a cat rescue at some substandard facility for a TV show. However, she decided it was worthwhile, because of the national exposure it would give Big Cat Rescue.
“When you are truly in this for animals, it eats you up,” says Schreibvogel.
Schreibvogel is talking about the more than 100 cats that have died after coming to the sanctuary. Big Cat Rescue points out it has been in existence since the early 1990s and cats don’t have unlimited life spans.
Baskin’s records show at least two died after their stomachs twisted from eating hay. Some have died from asthenia and there have been several cancer deaths.
Baskin thinks her critics are jealous of her success. It’s clear the organization has gone through major growing pains and brings in huge donations from those who believe what Baskin says and don’t believe what her critics say.
We have gotten a lot of reaction from our investigation on Big Cat Rescue in Tampa and there has been some confusion by some. To be clear, this story is about Big Cat Rescue in Tampa and not about Big Cat Habitat in Sarasota, Fl.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories/article/212996/250/10-News-Investigators-raise-questions-about-Big-Cat-Rescue

Truck Stop Tiger

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:38:00 +0000

Animal Life Site

Deb Duxbury
BellaOnline’s Animal Life Editor

Truck Stop Tiger

In December 2010, the state of Louisiana renewed an owner’s permit allowing a caged tiger to be kept in a truck stop parking lot. In April 2011, the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit to have the permit removed as it violates state and local ordinances put in place to protect both people and wild animals from these types of situations. Let us break this issue down into a rudimentary point, counterpoint perspective, and see if clarity of common sense will emerge.

The Merits of Marketing:

Point:
The Tiger Truck Stop has built their business of filling truckers’ tanks and bellies around a caged tiger kept in their parking lot. Their sales pitch, as stated on their website, “ANYBODY can go to Louisiana and see an alligator! You can tell your friends you saw a TIGER!”

Counterpoint:
America is a big place. Alligators are only found in the southeastern parts of the country. The chances are tourists who are interested in animal exploration in Louisiana, are actually looking for gators and not a lone tiger.

The thrill of going out on a swamp boat; wind whipping through your hair as you bounce up and down in your seat; eyes stealing for a glimpse of nature’s murky predator. Suddenly, you happen across a wild alligator and fumble to get an in-focus picture of a flailing tail and snapping jaw. This heart pounding experience is exclusive to a select few states in America, Louisiana being one. Whereas, you can go to any zoo anywhere in America and see a caged tiger, sitting, pacing, and yawning, it is anticlimactic by comparison.

What is most perplexing about their sales pitch is that it is not even remotely aimed at their target audience – truckers. If this truck stop put up a sales campaign for longer showers at a lower cost or free polish with every truck wash they would fill the gas pumps, store, and restaurant toot sweet. Truckers would be passing the information along like a hot ticket item to any trucker heading toward the area. It is how that particular marketing network works.

Seeing a tiger has nothing to do with helping out a trucker’s bottom line. Therefore, there is no reason to pass along the truck stop information. Turning this entire scheme into ineffective costly marketing that leaves the owners pleading for donations and pining for negative media attention to capture the sympathy dollar.

The rights of a concerned community and nation:

Point:
The truck stop claims animal rights activists are harassing them. Further stating, they have the right to private ownership of wild animals.

Counterpoint:
You are a truck stop and are therefore a public domain with public responsibilities.

Humanitarian responsibilities:

Point:
The truck stop has started a petition to keep the tiger at the truck stop. Those supporting the petition did so mainly out of concern for the tiger and not the permit holders. They point out that the tiger has been held captive his entire life. Therefore, it would be cruel to subject him to having to adapt to a life out in the wild.

Counterpoint:
It is unfortunate that the permit holders have permanently altered this tiger’s existence. However, nobody is saying drop the animal into the wild. There are a multitude of conservation programs prepared to offer him a more natural way of life in an environment better suited to him. Rather than a life confined to a small, barren, cage. The permit holders are aware of the options.

What is being said is free the animal from his indentured servitude. Release him to one of the conservation parks where he will have a life free from gawking, taunting, having items thrown at him, never-ending petrol fumes and noise, and no space. That should be wanted for any truly loved “family pet.”

This is where a constituency looks to its government for clarity of direction and leadership. It behooves Louisiana to enforce animal and social welfare mandates, particularly in the wake of 600,000 dead animals from the Katrina fallout. Farm animals reared for slaughter have the benefit of stricter governmental guidelines for quality of life than this endangered beauty. The Federal Endangered Species Act and the Federal Lacey Act protects endangered animals from any activity that may be detrimental to the species, whether its origin is foreign or domestic. The fact that tigers are not indigenous to America should not hinder this animal from receiving those protections.

Man’s attempt to domesticate the big cat will not put an end to their endangerment; only hasten their extinction.

For those interested in compelling the state of Louisiana to retract this permit, sign the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Petition.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art16533.asp

Truck Stop Tiger And The Law

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:30:00 +0000

Truck Stop Tiger And The Law

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art27858.asp
The animal activist community let out a reserved sigh in May 2011 when the Louisiana government decided to uphold the law. Louisiana mandated that the Truck Stop Tiger service station surrender “Tony” the 11-foot (335cm), 500lb (227kg) tiger to a conservation park and intended to revoke the permit of ownership. However, in June 2011 Michael Sandlin, the permit holder, filed a Petition for Intervention and brought forth evidence to prove that the tiger kept in the parking lot is the result of inbreeding and therefore is considered a generic tiger in the eyes of the law.

Generic tigers are considered outside of the protection of the Endangered Species Act because tigers in the wild do not normally inbreed their species. This loophole is being challenged by animal welfare organizations like the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) in an effort to get it closed so that these tigers are protected. The reasoning is based on the issue that tigers are not indigenous to the United States and the proliferation of inbred generic tigers is a direct result of humankind’s interference with the continued preservation of an endangered animal, which is in direct contravention to the Endangered Species Act.

The number of caged inbred tigers is estimated at 10,000, which surpasses the estimated global wild population of 7,500 tigers. The tragic reality remains that generic inbred tigers deal with so many prevalent medical conditions that this tiger population could not replace tigers found in the wild should the animal become extinct, rendering the intention of the Endangered Species Act inert from failure to protect and preserve the endangered tiger species.

The overpopulation of generic tigers is a problem that is quickly facing challenges similar to that of domesticated animal shelters, only on a much larger scale. The permit holder, has openly vilified wildlife rescue organizations for being sub par in their ability to effectively care for displaced wild animals and is quick to offer his opinion that animal regulations exist to protect humans from animals and not the other way around. However, he neglects to address the issue of why organizations like the Big Cat Rescue are necessary in the first place. He also fails to acknowledge that such programs have required standards that must be maintained to remain active, whereas a gas station does not have the same obligations.

If people left wildlife where it belonged and did not constantly usurp the law, there would be little need for such programs. These organizations face the challenge of creating reasonable space that keeps pace with the deliberate and irresponsible breeding rates of generic tigers, in addition to other displaced wild cats.

Truck Stop Tiger History:

The permit holder purchased four tigers from a breeding farm in Texas for the purpose of offering a tourist attraction at his business. He purchased a brother and a sister, “Toby” and “Rainbow” and two of their inbred offspring, “Sophia” and “Tony.” “Sophia” was a white tiger who was slated to be “Tony’s” breeding partner until she passed away from complications at 4 years of age.

In an attempt to replace the white tiger, forced inbreeding between brother and sister and mother and son produced 13 cubs without success. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) advised the permit holder to turn over the tigers to the Tiger Haven conservation facility in Tennessee. He complied with the exception of “Tony.”

The Life of “Tony” the Truck Stop Tiger:

The tiger lives in a reinforced cage that altogether totals 40 feet x 80 feet (12.16m x 24.32m), which is about the size of an average dining room and is located 300 feet (91.44m) from the gas pump island, which is approximately five semi-truck lengths in distance. His diet consists of 15 lbs (6.8kg) of meat each day, except Sundays, and an automatic water bowl.

The gas station is located directly off the highway and is open 24 hours each day. This makes the standard environment for this tiger to consist of gas fumes, truck airbrakes, highway traffic, and debris. The tiger lives primarily off sympathy donations that are typically generated by negative media attention. The most recent donations went towards painting his cage the Louisiana State University colors of purple and gold.

ALDF goes back to court in October and November 2011 on the tiger’s behalf. The contention is that the gas station is a public business that dispenses petrol and is not designated as a zoo, carnival, conservation, or breeding farm. Therefore, there is not a general expectation of awareness from customers. Even though the local law enforcement has a general escape plan on file there is no way to effectively prepare random consumers from an attack in the event of an escape.

Public pressure is likely to play a strong role in the outcome of this case. If court proceedings fail, the permit will be renewed in December 2011. The Louisiana government once saw the legal merit in removing the tiger from the truck stop and revoking the permit of ownership. ALDF is hopeful that they will see it again and remove the tiger to an environment better suited to meet his needs.

For those interested in lending their voice in support of ALDF’s efforts please sign the Release The Truck Stop Tiger Initiative.

	Animal Life Site
	BY:Deb Duxbury BellaOnline’s Animal Life Editor

Tony's History & Issues

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 02:46:00 +0000

Tony’s History

Tony was born at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana, in 2000, residing with three other tigers who were confiscated from the facility in 2003, leaving Tony as the lone remaining tiger.

~Issues

~Improper veterinary care

~Lack of space

~Multiple USDA citations to the facility
~Hard, concrete substrata

~Stereotypic behavior

~Rust

~Inadequate enrichment

~Improper nutrition

~Exposure to extreme temperatures

~Improper environment

*Tony is surrounded 24/7 by gasoline fumes, roaring truck engines, and noise from the nearby freeway.

One World Conservation supports the campaign to revoke the exhibitors permit of Michael Sandlin, Tony’s owner.

PUT MOUSE ON TONY’S PICTURE THEN CLICK ON ARROW: http://www.oneworldc.org/campaigns#!__campaigns

TRUCKSTOPTIGERTONY's Channel ~ FOUNDER & FRIENDS OF FREE TONY

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:46:00 +0000

SEVERAL VIDEO’S OF TONY THE TRUCK STOP TIGER IN GROSSE TETE LOUISIANA I-10 EXIT 139

4:52

UPDATE (1) May 12, 2011 FREE Tony, the “Truck Stop Tiger”; Grosse Tete, Louisiana

UPDATE (2) June 9, 2011 FREE TONY, the “truck stop tiger” DONT LET TONY DOWN!

UPDATE (3) June 9, 2011 The REAL LIVE TRUTH about Tony , the “truck stop tiger”

UPDATE (4) June 9, 2011 FREE Tony the truck stop tiger Inside The Tiger Restaurant Grosse Tete, LA

UPDATE (5) June 9, 2011 Tony’s Own Prison..doing time for Sandlin’s crime (same as vid update 3)

UPDATE (6) June 9, 2011 FREE Tony “the truck stop tiger” “In My Life” for Sean

UPDATE(7)Jul 13, 2011 FREE TONY:Sandlin’s campaign slogan Pt1:”ANIMAL ACTIVISTS TASTE LIKE CHICKEN.”

UPDATE (8) July 13, 2011: LSU Trademark Violation on Sandlin: painting Tony’s cage, Purple & Gold

UPDATE (9) July 13, 2011: a very sweet evening’s moment with Tony, the Truck Stop Tiger

UPDATE (10) July 13, 2011: Was very hard saying “Nite Nite” to Tony, the Truck Stop Tiger

UPDATE(11) Sandlin’s SAVE TONY Campaign Slogan Pt2: Animal Activists Taste Like Chicken EXPLAINED

Tony The Tiger-More Help Needed Now Before He is DEAD!!

Tony The Tiger Real Video&Fake Pro Video-Side by Side Proof EPIC OWNAGE!!

Tony The Tiger Video Proof You are Lying About Tony-EPIC ownage.

TheTiger Truck Stop; OWNER: Michael Sandlin The Tiger Killer!!

Tony the Truck Stop Tiger: UPDATE

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Updates On Tony

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:33:00 +0000

August 29, 2011: Via The Animal Legal Defense Fund:“This morning, the Louisiana Court of Appeals ruled that Michael Sandlin and the Tiger Truck Stop are necessary parties to the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s lawsuit to free Tony the Tiger and ordered a new trial in the case.” In so ruling, the Court vacated the permanent injunction issued by the trial court that would have freed Tony in December.

The decision means ALDF will need to amend its complaint to add the new defendants, then re-do the litigation thus far. While we disagree with the Court of Appeals’ ruling, this is just a minor set-back. We are confident that the trial court got the law right the first time around and will rule the same way when we go through it again with Mr. Sandlin and the Tiger Truck Stop as parties.”

August 15, 2011: Today’s exception hearing concerning Mr. Sandlin’s attempt to have the case dismissed has been denied. The judge will not allow the “interveners” to be party to the suit or to have the case dismissed.

On August 15, lawyers for ALDF will be in court in Baton Rouge to defend against Michael Sandlin’s, attempt to get the case dismissed. The Court has also set a hearing date of September 15 for ALDF’s motion for a mandatory injunction, which seeks an immediate revocation of Sandlin’s permit to keep Tony.

July 18 2011: The hearing scheduled for July 22, 2011 has been postponed. More information will be posted when available.

June 21, 2011: New hearing date of July 22, 2011 announced.

June 14, 2011: The hearing scheduled for June 14 has been postponed to a later date yet to be determined.

June 3, 2011: Next Steps in ALDF’s Fight to Free Tony the Truck Stop Tiger http://www.aldf.org/article.php?id=1723 A new hearing on the motion for a mandatory injunction has been set for June 14.

May 16, 2011 From ALDF: Answers to Your Questions About ALDF’s Win for Tony the Tiger http://aldf.org/article.php?id=1711

On May 5, 2011 ALDF goes to court for Tony . More info: http://aldf.org/article.php?id=1699

On April 11, 2011 The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and its Secretary Robert Barham. The lawsuit argues that the permit issued by the LDWF which allows Tony to be kept on display at the truck stop violates state and local laws. Read more at: www.aldf.org/tony . There are two ALDF sponsored petitions for Tony; please sign and share the links: http://tinyurl.com/tonyaldfpetition and http://www.change.org/petitions/speak-out-for-tony-the-truck-stop-tiger

On December 14th, 2010, The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries renewed their permit to Tony’s owner allowing him to keep Tony at the truck stop. Please voice your objections to the renewal of this permit.

‘Tony the Tiger’ will stay at truck stop for now

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 04:47:00 +0000

By Clarissa Kell-Holland, Land Line staff writer

A legal battle has been going on for years over where “Tony the Tiger” should live. But for now, the Louisiana Court of Appeals has ruled that Tony will remain at the Tiger Truck Stop in Gross Tete, LA, which he has called home for the past 10 years.
In May, a judge in the East Baton Rouge District Court granted the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s request for a permanent injunction against the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, preventing the department from issuing an annual permit for Tony to live at the truck stop. In December 2010, he was scheduled to be moved to a big cat sanctuary.
However, the decision was overturned in late August after the Louisiana Court of Appeals ruled that Tony’s owner, Michael Sandlin, and the Tiger Truck Stop are necessary parties to the ALDF’s lawsuit, and ordered a new trial.
“All we have is what’s in the decision, so I can’t say why the Court of Appeals ruled the way it did, other than it thought Mr. Sandlin and the truck stop were necessary to the case,” ALDF attorney Matthew Liebman told Land Line on Thursday, Sept. 1.
“We did not include them originally because, as we see it, this case is about whether the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries had the authority to issue the permit,” Liebman said.
For now, the matter is “remanded for further proceedings” until the ALDF can amend its complaint.
“We are confident that the trial court got the law right the first time around and will rule the same when we go through it again with Mr. Sandlin and the Tiger Truck Stop as parties,” the ALDF release stated.

http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2011/Aug11/082911/090111-04.shtml

I Can't Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand....Michael Sandlin

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:47:08 +0000

USA TODAY ~ Ruling in Tiger Truck Stop case tossed

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 03:29:00 +0000

Posted 8/30/2011 10:28 AM ET

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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Baton Rouge appeals court has thrown out a judge’s ruling that barred state officials from issuing any new permits to an Iberville Parish truck stop to keep a 550-pound tiger on display.

On Monday, a three-judge panel of the state’s 1st Circuit Court of Appeal sent the matter back to state District Judge Mike Caldwell for another hearing. The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/mSOKZT ) the court ruled that Tiger Truck Stop Inc. in Grosse Tete and its owner, Michael Sandlin, deserve to be heard.

Caldwell’s ruling in May came after the Animal Legal Defense Fund sued the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to have Tony, a Siberian-Bengal mix, removed from the Interstate 10 truck stop.

Only attorneys for the animal rights group and the state agency took part in the first hearing.

Caldwell later denied Sandlin’s and Tiger Truck Stop’s request for a new trial.

First Circuit Judges Edward “Jimmy” Gaidry, Michael McDonald and Jeff Hughes said Sandlin and the truck stop “were parties needed for just adjudication in this case.”

The appellate court reversed Caldwell’s denial of the new trial request, vacated his May ruling in favor of the Animal Legal Defense Fund and sent the matter back to him “for further proceedings.”

“We’re very pleased. This will give us a chance to correct the situation,” said Steve LeBlanc, an attorney for Sandlin and his truck stop, on Monday.

Animal Legal Defense Fund attorney Matthew Liebman called the 1st Circuit ruling “a minor setback.”

“We are confident that the trial court got the law right the first time around and will rule the same way when we go through it again with Mr. Sandlin and the Tiger Truck Stop as parties,” he said.

LeBlanc also expressed confidence, saying, “We’re in compliance with their (Department of Wildlife and Fisheries) rules and regulations.”

Caldwell had agreed with the animal rights group that a permit can only be issued to an individual, not a corporation, and the individual must live on the premises.

Tiger Truck Stop is the permit holder, not Sandlin, the judge said.

The last annual permit that the state agency issued to Tiger Truck Stop was in December.

Caldwell has said Tony has been on display at the truck stop since 2001.

The animal rights group cited a 2006 Louisiana law that prohibits the private ownership of large and exotic cats.

The law includes a grandfather exception that allows people to keep exotic cats as pets as long as the animals were legally owned before Aug. 15, 2006, when the law took effect.

The animal rights group claims the tiger was not legally owned by the truck stop before that date because a 1993 Iberville Parish ordinance prohibits anyone from owning “wild, exotic or vicious animals for display or for exhibition.”

http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=thetowntalk&sParam=37341461.story

AP NEWS

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 03:06:00 +0000

Latest local, national & international news from the Associated Press

http://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/ruling-in-tiger-truck-stop-case-tossed/cf9f7a8a06724e188b7b6e79216c2eb2

Ruling in Tiger Truck Stop case tossed

Aug. 30, 2011, 9:14 a.m. CDT

The Advocate

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Baton Rouge appeals court has threw out a judge’s ruling that barred state officials from issuing any new permits to an Iberville Parish truck stop to keep a 550-pound tiger on display.
On Monday, a three-judge panel of the state’s 1st Circuit Court of Appeal sent the matter back to state District Judge Mike Caldwell for another hearing. The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/mSOKZT ) the court ruled that Tiger Truck Stop Inc. in Grosse Tete and its owner, Michael Sandlin, deserve to be heard.
Caldwell’s ruling in May came after the Animal Legal Defense Fund sued the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to have Tony, a Siberian-Bengal mix, removed from the Interstate 10 truck stop.
Only attorneys for the animal rights group and the state agency took part in the first hearing.
Caldwell later denied Sandlin’s and Tiger Truck Stop’s request for a new trial.
First Circuit Judges Edward “Jimmy” Gaidry, Michael McDonald and Jeff Hughes said Sandlin and the truck stop “were parties needed for just adjudication in this case.”
The appellate court reversed Caldwell’s denial of the new trial request, vacated his May ruling in favor of the Animal Legal Defense Fund and sent the matter back to him “for further proceedings.”

___
Information from: The Advocate, http://www.2theadvocate.com

Ruling in Tiger Truck Stop case tossed

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:26:00 +0000

Associated Press

Posted on August 30, 2011 at 8:16 AM

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Animal Legal Defense Fund's Reply To "Appeals Court Overturns Tiger Truck Stop Decision" 8.29.2011

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:17:00 +0000

Here is the response from The Animal Legal Defense Fund concerning this decision (re: Appeals court overturns Tiger Truck Stop decision 8.29.2011)

“This morning, the Louisiana Court of Appeals ruled that Michael Sandlin and the Tiger Truck Stop are necessary parties to the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s lawsuit to free Tony the Tiger and ordered a new trial in the case. In so ruling, the Court vacated the permanent injunction issued by the trial court that would have freed Tony in December. The decision means ALDF will need to amend its complaint to add the new defendants, then re-do the litigation thus far. While we disagree with the Court of Appeals’ ruling, this is just a minor set-back. We are confident that the trial court got the law right the first time around and will rule the same way when we go through it again with Mr. Sandlin and the Tiger Truck Stop as parties.”

Appeals court overturns Tiger Truck Stop decision 8.29.2011

Posted: Aug 29, 2011 12:38 PM
Updated: Aug 29, 2011 2:26 PM

BATON ROUGE – An appeals court today threw out a ruling the state couldn’t issue any new large animal permits to Tiger Truck Stop, whose big cat has been the center of big controversy among animal rights groups.

The decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a ruling from District Judge Mike Caldwell this past May. He ruled in favor of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit group that sued the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to stop issuing the permits.

The Tiger Truck Stop and its owner, Mike Sandlin, were not part of the proceedings, which is why the 1st Circuit said they overturned the motion. They also vacated Caldwell’s order for a permanent injunction and sent it back to the District Court for further proceedings.

The Truck Stop’s 550-pound tiger named “Tony” has drawn criticism from animal rights groups like the ALDF, who believe the fumes, inadequate enclosure and stream of visitors are detrimental to the tiger’s health.

A date for a new trial had not been set yet.

http://www.wbrz.com/news/appeals-court-overturns-tiger-truck-stop-decision/

Tiger Truck Stop Celebrates National Truck Driver Appreciation Week

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 17:08:00 +0000

Tiger Truck Stop hosts Customer Appreciation Day September 16, 2011

Grosse Tete, LA (I-Newswire) August 27, 2011 – Grosse Tete, LA – On September 16, The Tiger Truck Stop will be hosting their Customer Appreciation Day from 4:00pm – 8:00pm next to the live tiger exhibit. The truck stop is located at I-10, exit 139, just south of the interstate.

This Customer Appreciation Day is the truck stop’s way of saying “Thank you” to the thousands of truck drivers and customers who have supported the truck stop throughout the years. “We hope everyone will come out and enjoy the food and festivities. It is our pleasure to express our appreciation for the hard work and dedication the nation’s truck drivers carry out every day. We never forget that their support is the reason we stay in business,” said Michael Sandlin, President and General Manager of Tiger truck Stop.

Drivers and customers can show their Fuel receipt ($10 minimum) and enjoy Free Jambalaya and Free Music. In addition to the cookout festivities, Customers can take a turn at dunking their favorite animal activist at the Dunking Booth and win a Free T-Shirt!
The Tiger Truck Stop was created to give truck drivers and travelers a place to relax and enjoy Louisiana. The facility is infamous among travelers for its live Tiger exhibit and mascot, Tony the Tiger, who creates a unique atmosphere at this truck stop.

The truck stop has come under attack from animal rights’ activists who are trying to have Sandlin forced to give up his beloved tiger. He is currently fighting a lawsuit in which he will lose the right to keep Tony home. Supporters of Sandlin, including other exotic animal facilities, have launched a grassroots campaign to keep Tony home, stating that the tiger is in no danger, his health is great, his enclosure is superb, and he should remain at the only home he has ever known with the family that raised him and love him.

The staff invite everyone to come out at enjoy on Friday September 16, 2011 from 4-8, and support our nation’s Trucking Industry and keeping Tony home!

National Truck Driver Appreciation Week is a time for thanks, but it is also a time for giving back. These events will be held in honor of the fine service and support professional truck drivers provide our industry every day of the year.

About Tiger Truck Stop:The Tiger Truck Stop was created to give truck drivers and travelers a place to relax and enjoy Louisiana. The facility is infamous among travelers for its live Tiger exhibit and mascot, Tony the Tiger, who creates a unique atmosphere at this truck stop.

Company Contact Information
Tiger Truck Stop
Michael Sandlin
I-10, exit 139
70740
Phone : (225) 648-2332

http://www.i-newswire.com/tiger-truck-stop-celebrates-national/126665

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 03:11:00 +0000

Saving Tony The Tiger

by The Pawz Cauze Show

in Pets

Airdate: Thu, Aug 11, 2011

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Just when I loose faith in our youth today, along comes an 11 year old young lady with a passion for large cats. Well, all my loyal listeners know that the way to my heart is through cats of all shapes, sizes, and breeds. This one young person has made it her mission to save Tony The Tiger who has been locked in a cement and iron prison, alone, for over 10 years at a truck stop while putting up with being alone, teased, harrassed, loud sounds at all hours of the day and night and inhaling toxic fumes.
Join me as I talk to this little package of huge inspiration and we will hear all about what she has done to help Tony become free. Now we have won one battle. The owner of the truck stop was denied a renewal license to keep Tony but his current license doesn’t end until the end of December. Poor Tony needed to be set free 10 years ago!
So be sure not to miss this show. Let little Breawna inspire you just as she has inspired me and hundreds of other people whom she has met. She even created a T-shirt line to help free Tony.
See you in cyberspace. Pawz up! Ice……..

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepawzcauze/2011/08/11/saving-tony-the-tiger

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FREE TONY THE TIGER — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:30:00 +0000

Radio show backs Tiger Truck Stop

Bill Feig / The Advocate

Tony the tiger watches from his Tiger Truck Stop habitat Wednesday as owner Michael Sandlin, left, and Joe ‘Joe Exotic’ Schreibvogel discuss the legal situation involving efforts to move the tiger from Grosse Tete. Sandlin recently painted Tony’s cage with LSU’s purple and gold colors.

Jordan Blum

Advocate capitol news bureau

The Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete and its controversially caged Tony the tiger were the focus of a live, Internet radio show Wednesday that promoted keeping the 10-year-old tiger in town.

The one-hour “Out and Wild with Joe Exotic” show on gay-themed OutOnline.com showcased the cage habitat and its new purple and gold paint.

The tiger at the Tiger Truck Stop, west of Baton Rouge, has been the subject of a lawsuit as well as actions by federal, state and parish governments over the past eight years.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund, with headquarters in California, complained recently that the tiger enclosure’s new color scheme violated LSU’s trademark. LSU houses Mike, a Bengal tiger that serves as the university’s mascot.

LSU is not planning to pursue any action after consulting with legal counsel, said Brian Hommel, director of LSU trademark licensing.

“We don’t believe this particular use currently rises to the level of infringement,” Hommel said Wednesday.

The ALDF is in court attempting to move the tiger from its truck stop enclosure.

Joe Schreibvogel, who goes by “Joe Exotic” on the Internet webcast and radio show, also has had his share of run-ins with the ALDF and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, known as PETA, over allegations of animal abuse. He runs the G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Wynnewood, Okla.

Schreibvogel rallied support for Michael Sandlin, who owns the truck stop in Grosse Tete.

Schreibvogel showed online video of him inspecting the grass and air conditioning in Tony’s cage. He said he approved of the 550-pound tiger’s health and happiness.

Schreibvogel said Sandlin is being unfairly targeted by “people who know nothing about tigers.”

“This tiger is in no need of being rescued,” Schreibvogel said, arguing the Siberian-Bengal mix would likely die of depression in an animal sanctuary.

“You can’t smell any gas; you can’t smell any diesel,” he said from the tiger cage. The truck stop is within sight of Interstate 10. But many zoos are near interstate highways, he said.

“Let’s get some checkbooks out and build Tony a (new) home right here in Grosse Tete,” he said.

A state district court ruling in May barred the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries from issuing any new animal permits to the Tiger Truck Stop once the current permit expires after December. So, as of now, Tony must go elsewhere after this year.

A Sept. 15 court hearing is scheduled in an effort to revoke the permit sooner.

A district judge in May agreed with the ALDF that a permit can only be issued to an individual, not a corporation, and that the individual must live on the premises.

Tiger Truck Stop is the permit holder, not Sandlin.

Employees with Big Cat Rescue, an animal sanctuary in Tampa, Fla., home to 117 large cats, have been working for years to have Tony removed from the truck stop.

“Hell will freeze over before Tony ever goes to Big Cat Rescue,” Sandlin said Wednesday, arguing he would sooner send the tiger to the G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park.

“We may have to file a separate suit against the state and kind of circumvent this litigation,” Sandlin said.

http://theadvocate.com/news/619882-64/radio-show-backs-tiger-truck.html

LIES ABOUT CARING PEOPLE TRYING TO HELP TONY.

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 16:00:34 +0000

A new video came out on YouTube called Lies about Tony, and once again this video was professionally edited, altered and voiced over by Sandlins personal church going friend Ted Baldwin who is a political reporter who works for http://insidelanews.com/

They both attend: http://www.mccbr.org/

This video is full of lies that this campaign feels could be harmful to Tony’s well being.

LINK TO VIDEO: http://bit.ly/mlmc7O

“Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.”

Albert Einstein

An important comment and lie that Sandlin keeps throwing out there is that “activists” are poisoning Tony this is a very damaging and slanderous statement that is fabricated by Sandlin ~ its almost as if he is setting it up so that if something should ever happen to Tony he will blame the thousands of caring animal activist that are concerned for Tonys life.

WE HAVE SENT AN EMAIL TO THE ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND ADVISING THEM THAT SANDLIN AND TED KEEP THROWING OUT THAT WORD. POISON. IF SOMETHING SHOULD HAPPEN TO TONY, NOT ONE “ACTIVIST” I KNOW WOULD EVEN GO TO LOUISIANA DUE TO THE FACT ALONE THAT IT’S TOO DANGEROUS.

People that allow Sandlin to keep this dangerous game up and keep placating him are not to be taken lightly. Sandlin in no way wants Tony to leave the truck stop, he is stopping at nothing, and playing dirty now. What does this mean for poor Tony? Will he make it out of there alive?

HE USES THE WORD ACTIVISTS AS A SCARE TACTIC. SURE THERE ARE ACTIVISTS THAT ARE EXTREME BUT THIS CAMPAIGN HAS NEVER ONCE BEEN EXTREME OR THREATENED ANYONE. WE JUST TELL THE TRUTH BASED ON LEGAL DOCUMENTATION THAT WE HAVE READ AND OBTAINED THRU THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. WE HAVE SPENT COUNTLESS HOURS DAILY WORKING ON SPREADING TONY’S STORY, AND NOW WE HAVE THIS MAN SANDLIN WHO IS IN PANIC MODE AND IS HAVING KNEE JERK VIDEOS MADE THAT ARE FULL OF TALL TALES, IS TRYING TO MAKE PEOPLE THINK THERE IS SOME CRAZY ACTIVISTS STALKING HIM AND HANGING AROUND THE CAGE?? REALLY? SANDLIN AND BALDWIN YOU SHOULD TAKE YOUR ACT ON THE ROAD AND MAKE YOUR MONEY THAT WAY INSTEAD OF EXPLOITING A MAJESTIC TIGER LIKE TONY FOR YOUR GRAVY TRAIN.

WE WOULD RATHER YOU CALL US CARING TIGER LOVERS THAN CRAZY ACTIVISTS FOR THE RECORD.

THIS LATEST VIDEO CALLED LIES ABOUT TONY ON YOUTUBE IS A SAD PRODUCTION DONE BY A MAN WHO IS SEEKING FAME .WE CANT WAIT UNTIL DECEMBER 2011 WHEN WE CAN CLOSE THIS PAGE DOWN AND NEVER HEAR YOUR LOUSY NAMES AGAIN AS TONY WILL BE SAFE FROM THE LIKES OF MEN WHO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT TREATING WILD TIGERS. THE POOL IS A HORSE TROUGH WITH NO FILTER SYSTEM. TONY HAS NEVER BEEN IN IT ONCE, NICE ATTEMPT WITH THE NEW STAIRS THOUGH. IF HE HAD SANDLIN WOULD HAVE PICTURES PLASTERED ACROSS THE INTERNET.

Update On Tony’s Legal Battle – Courtesy Mary Haik

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:16:00 +0000

Thank you to Mary Haik for her dedication to Tony and providing this important information.
Here is a brief summary {courtesy of Mary} of what has occurred so far:
On May 6, 2011 Judge R. Michael Caldwell granted a permanent injunction which blocks The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries from issuing a new permit to Tony’s owner Michael Sandlin. http://www.aldf.org/article.php?id=1700
In May 2011, Michael Sandlin’s attorney filed a Petition In Intervention, against the judge’s ruling on May 6, 2011, claiming that the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s ( ALDF ) suit against the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries ( LDWF ):
Allowed plaintiffs to present evidence and arguments against the owner of the property without his being a party to the suit which violated his state and federal rights to due process;

Prevented Mr. Sandlin from requesting a change in the regulations;

Did not allow the LDWF to change their regulations;
Should not have occurred without his inclusion, and thus Mr. Sandlin claim’s he is entitled to a new trial.
This Petition In Intervention was DENIED May 24, 2011.
In June 2011, Mr. Sandlin’s attorney filed an Amended Petition In Intervention And Motion For A New Trial to try to fight the judge’s ruling in May 2011, which prevents LDWF from issuing or renewing Tony’s permit.
This Petition In Intervention was also DENIED June 2011
Also in June 2011, Mr. Sandlin’s attorney filed a Motion and Order For Suspensive Appeal regarding the denied Petition to Intervene.
(NOTE: Apparently, the Appeal has been granted but no date has been set. Paperwork regarding this appeal was unobtainable – information was provided by one of the employees in the Appeals Office at the new Courthouse in Baton Rouge.)
In June 2011, ALDF and other plaintiffs’ lawyers filed an Opposition To Motion And Order For Suspensive Appeal but a response (denial) to that motion could not be found so its outcome is uncertain.
Yesterday, August 2, 2011, after a status conference, a new date was set for the Mandatory Injunction, September 15, 2011 at 9:00 am. This hearing is to argue for Tony’s release before December 2011.
If and when any other information becomes available, it will be posted. Once again thanks to Mary for her persistence in obtaining this information.

Updates On Tony

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 07:25:00 +0000

Updates On Tony

June 21, 2011: New hearing date of July 22, 2011 announced. Please see: http://freetonythetiger.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/your-continued-support-for-tony-is-needed/ for ways you can continue supporting Tony.

June 14, 2011: The hearing scheduled for June 14 has been postponed to a later date yet to be determined.

May 16, 2011 From ALDF: Answers to Your Questions About ALDF’s Win for Tony the Tiger http://aldf.org/article.php?id=1711

Victory For Tony!!! On May 6, 2011 Judge R. Michael Caldwell grants a permanent injunction which blocks The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries from issuing a new permit to Tony’s owner Michael Sandlin. More information: http://www.aldf.org/article.php?id=1700
On May 5, 2011 ALDF goes to court for Tony . More info: http://aldf.org/article.php?id=1699
On April 11, 2011 The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and its Secretary Robert Barham. The lawsuit argues that the permit issued by the LDWF which allows Tony to be kept on display at the truck stop violates state and local laws. Read more at: www.aldf.org/tony . There are two ALDF sponsored petitions for Tony; please sign and share the links: http://tinyurl.com/tonyaldfpetition and http://www.change.org/petitions/speak-out-for-tony-the-truck-stop-tiger
On December 14th, 2010, The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries renewed their permit to Tony’s owner allowing him to keep Tony at the truck stop. Please voice your objections to the renewal of this permit.

From Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell: Tiger Tug-Of-War

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:44:00 +0000

http://widgets.vodpod.com/w/video_embed/Video.4899625

Video link: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2010/11/12/jvm.big.cat.battle.hln

November 12, 2010: Tony’s story was presented on Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell. Guests included Carole Baskin, founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue – Tampa FL, Jane Garrison, Animal Welfare Expert, Michael Sandlin, owner of Tiger Truck Stop. Also covered was the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of tigers at Thailand’s Tiger Temple.
Please see this link for a transcript of the show: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1011/12/ijvm.01.html

™FREE TONY THE TIGER CAMPAIGN

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:06:00 +0000

FREE TONY THE TIGER

Archive for the ‘“corruption”’ Category

Lies About Tony ~ Video by: Tiger Truck Stop ~ Michael Sandlin

In “animal cruelty on display”, “animal cruelty”, “big cats”, “corruption”, “endangered tiger”, “exotic cat”, “Free Tony The Campaign”, “Free Tony The Tiger Campaign”, “free tony the tiger”, “grosse tete”, “Iberville parish”, “LDWF Board of Commissioners”, “maria davidson”, “michael sandlin”, “pay off”, “private ownership”, “save tony the tiger”, “tiger truck stop”, “Tony’s Journey”, “until his last breath”, abuse, ALDF, ™FREE TONY THE TIGER, ™FREE TONY THE TIGER CAMPAIGN, exotic, Issues, LDWF, liars, louisiaia, louisiana, louisiana department of wildlife and fisheries, michael sandlin, tiger, Tony, Tony The Truck Stop Tiger, truck stop, Warren Triche on 6.24.11 at 4:18 AM

Lies About Tony ~ Video by: Tiger Truck Stop ~ Michael Sandlin.

OFFICIAL COURT DOCUMENTS AND RULINGS RE: ALDF VS. LDWF AND SANDLINS FILING”>OFFICIAL COURT DOCUMENTS AND RULINGS RE: ALDF VS. LDWF AND SANDLINS FILING

In “animal cruelty on display”, “corruption”, “free tony the tiger”, “grosse tete”, “michael sandlin”, “tiger truck stop”, “until his last breath”, louisiana, Tony The Truck Stop Tiger on 6.24.11 at 2:23 PM

>THESE DOCUMENTS WERE RECEIVED TODAY IN THE MAIL COURTESY OF A GOOD FRIEND IN LOUISIANA, AND A GOOD FRIEND TO TONY AND TO THIS CAMPAIGN. THANK YOU MJH.

THE DOCUMENTS BEING SHARED FOR YOU INCLUDE THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE DECISION BY JUDGE CALDWELL, THE ORDER FOR FINAL AND PERMANENT INJUNCTION FILED BY THE ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND AND THE PETITION TIGER TRUCK STOP FILED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE LAWSUIT, SANDLINS PETITION IN INTERVENTION (which was subsequently denied by the Judge)
LINK TO DOCUMENTS: http://bit.ly/jiXe6h
WE WILL SHARE THE TRUTH REGARDLESS OF THE OUTCOME. WE ARE ALWAYS WORKING DAILY BEHIND THE SCENES FOR TONY, ALWAYS FIGHTING FOR HIS FREEDOM.
THANK YOU FOR ROARING FOR TONY. UNTIL THAT CAGE IS EMPTY WE HAVE TO STAY VIGILANT.
“In fact, if one person is unkind to an animal it is considered to be cruelty, but where a lot of people are unkind to animals, especially in the name of commerce, the cruelty is condoned and, once large sums of money are at stake, will be defended to the last by otherwise intelligent people.” — Ruth Harrison Animal Machines.

THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE…

Lies About Tony ~ tigertruckstop VIDEO #2″>Lies About Tony ~ tigertruckstop VIDEO #2

In “animal cruelty on display”, “corruption”, “free tony the tiger”, “grosse tete”, “michael sandlin”, “sky williamson”, “tiger truck stop”, “until his last breath”, louisiana, Tony The Truck Stop Tiger on 6.24.11 at 2:12 PM

VIDEO # 2 BY MICHAEL SANDLIN AND TIGER TRUCK STOP

It should be called te truth about Tony the Tiger and his life of hell…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBAeJfc19oo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

CLICK ON LINK ABOVE TO WATCH VIDEO…..

Tony the tiger at Tiger Truck Stop in Louisiana”>Tony the tiger at Tiger Truck Stop in Louisiana

In “animal cruelty on display”, “animal cruelty”, “corruption”, “free tony the tiger”, “grosse tete”, “michael sandlin”, “sky williamson”, “tiger truck stop”, “until his last breath”, louisiana on 6.24.11 at 3:31 AM

http://reporter.911animalabuse.com/service/displayDiscussionThreads.kickAction?w=92578&as=23072&d=171147

By Sky

Tony the tiger at Tiger Truck Stop in Louisiana

Action Request: Boycott
Location: Louisiana, United States
I thought society as a whole was better than this. I thought surely in this day in age we had grown to have compassion in our hearts. I will never understand how anybody can sleep at night knowing Tony is up at the Tiger Truck Stop suffering every minute of every day. The owner Michael Shawn Sandlin is so proud of his display of animal cruelty. He alone brings so much shame to the state of Louisiana and Iberville Parish. Every breath he takes is a waste. Michael Sandlin owes Tony the rest of his life. This man has been cruelly negligent with every single tiger that he has “owned” and has done so proudly and without any remorse. Take a good look at the fat guy with two tiger cubs laying beside him on the couch at the tiger truck stop web site. If he is allowed to keep Tony at the truck stop after the next council meeting February 17Th 2009 then shame on Louisiana. Google tiger truck stop/ go to www.FreeTony.com / go to www.care2.com and search tiger truck stop, Michael Sandlin or save truck stop tiger by all means educate yourself before you take a real good look at this situation. Do you really believe that it is okay for a TIGER to live at a TRUCK STOP being cruelly neglected and abused? If you do SHAME ON YOU. People that take their children there are teaching them that it is okay to commit a crime ANIMAL CRUELTY which is a felony in Louisiana. If you are buying gas from this truck stop then you are condoning what he is doing. I have talked to some of the truckers from tiger truck stop, not ONE walked away saying that they thought it was right to have tigers at the truck stop. On the Governors web site he says “Bobby Jindal believes Louisiana must break free from the lingering legacy of the past and fully embrace a government that is honest, more efficient, accountable to all its citizens and attractive to deal with by outside investors. Louisiana must proceed quickly and forcefully to overcome a stereotype built up over decades, which continues to hamper our ability to expand the economy and improve the quality of life in our state.” Well do you think we can start with NOT having a tiger at a truck stop? Bobby Jindal definitely has the right mind set to turn Louisiana around and make it into a better place but that can never happen until the community joins him and they to want to live in a better state.
Sincerely, Sky Williamson
(go to www.FreeTony.com for more info.)

Lawsuit alleges illegal ownership of Tony the tiger caged at truck stop”>Lawsuit alleges illegal ownership of Tony the tiger caged at truck stop

In “animal cruelty on display”, “corruption”, “grosse tete”, “michael sandlin”, “save tony the tiger”, “until his last breath”, louisiana, Tony The Truck Stop Tiger on 6.24.11 at 3:29 AM

April 13, 2011 11:42 pm ET

Katerina Lorenzatos Makris

Animal Policy Examiner

Tony the tiger, caged at Louisiana truck stop, awaits his fate

Credits:

Big Cat Rescue

Tony paces the edges of a concrete cage at a busy gas station, often surrounded by the curious motorists who are drawn in to gawk at him, to shop for tiger-themed souvenirs at the adjacent store, and to dine at the 24-hour Tiger Café. While his unexpected presence on a major interstate in the American South amuses crowds of customers, the Siberian-Bengal tiger likely remains unaware of the years of legal wrangling that his confinement there has produced.
The latest brawl comes in the form of the lawsuit filed this week by Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) against Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which last December granted Tony’s owner Michael Sandlin a permit to continue to keep the ten-year-old animal at his Tiger Truck Stop on I-10 in the town of Grosse Tete in Iberville Parish.
The grandfather clause
“In 2006, the Louisiana Legislature passed, and the governor signed, Act 715, a law requiring the state Wildlife and Fisheries Commission to control the private possession of wild cats, including tigers like Tony,” ALDF Staff Attorney Matthew Liebman told Animal Policy Examiner (APE) in an email interview. “The Commission wrote regulations that banned private possession of tigers, with a “grandfather” clause that permits people who legally owned tigers when the law passed to keep them.”
“Our lawsuit states that Mr. Sandlin was ineligible for a grandfather permit under the regulations because he did not legally own Tony when Act 715 was passed, because at that time Iberville Parish had a law prohibiting private possession of tigers,” Liebman explained. “Furthermore, Mr. Sandlin does not live on the premises, which is a requirement for a permit.”
USDA citations
Sandlin’s prior skirmishes included several citations from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) between 1997 and 2007, when he owned and bred many more tigers, charging him with violations of the Animal Welfare Act such as “unsanitary feeding practices, mishandling tigers, failure to provide veterinary care, failure to provide shelter from inclement weather, failure to provide clean drinking water, and repeatedly failing to have knowledgeable employees caring for the tigers,” according to a “FactSheet” compiled by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries nonetheless saw fit to allow Sandlin to keep Tony at the truck stop through 2011, prompting ALDF to legal action.
A ‘natural’ life?
Outspoken animal advocate and True Blood star Kristin Bauer van Straten has entered the fray, lending her voice and fame to free the tiger from what she calls a “low-rent jail.”
“This could not be further from his natural, God-intended life,” she wrote in an email interview. “[Tony] is living a life harsher than we sentence the worst offenders in our society to.”
Liebman said ALDF’s goal is “to get Tony moved to a reputable and humane big cat sanctuary where he can live out his natural life free of the fumes, toxins, and noise that make his current life so miserable. If the permit is revoked, Sandlin will no longer be able to possess Tony in the State of Louisiana.”
Along with the lawsuit ALDF has launched a petition drive aimed at revoking Sandlin’s permit.
On the other side of the battle line, Sandlin offers a “Keep Tony at Home” petition that reads “Tony, a tiger raised from infancy by hand, is the target of a misguided attempt to remove him from the people that raised him, love him, and take care of him daily. He has known no other life, and receives great food, and the best medical attention when needed… “
Meanwhile, at a truck stop on an interstate, a tiger paces, staring back at the sightseers who have come to stare at him, and waits.
APE’s telephone messages left for Sandlin have not yet been returned.
http://www.examiner.com/animal-policy-in-national/lawsuit-alleges-illegal-ownership-of-tony-the-tiger-caged-at-truck-stop

True Blood star Kristin Bauer van Straten works to free tiger from truck stop”>True Blood star Kristin Bauer van Straten works to free tiger from truck stop

In “Bobby Jindal”, “corruption”, “free tony the tiger”, “grosse tete”, “maria davidson”, “michael sandlin”, “tiger truck stop”, “until his last breath”, Issues, louisiana, Tony The Truck Stop Tiger on 6.24.11 at 3:45 AM

April 12, 2011 11:35 pm ET

Katerina Lorenzatos Makris

Animal Policy Examiner

True Bloods’ Kristin Bauer van Straten speaks out about tiger’s confinement

Credits: Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF)

If you were a tiger caged in a tourist attraction next to a gas station, you might want to have on your side a pretty and powerful vampire—or at least the actress who plays her.
Kristin Bauer van Straten, a.k.a. Pam on HBO’s supernatural series True Blood and an ardent supporter of animal welfare causes, has joined Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) in a campaign to free Tony, a Siberian-Bengal tiger confined alone in a concrete cage for a decade at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana.
ALDF filed a lawsuit this week against the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries asking that the permit allowing the tiger to live at the truck stop be revoked. The group alleges that the permit “violates both state and local ordinances designed to protect people and wild animals like Tony.” ALDF has also launched a petition drive on behalf of Tony.
Tiger kept in a ‘low-rent jail’?
“Tony did not choose that life,” wrote Bauer van Straten in an email interview with Animal Policy Examiner (APE). “He is living solely for the entertainment of others receiving no fulfillment for himself in any way. He is a prisoner in a low-rent jail, in solitary confinement. He is living a life harsher than we sentence the worst offenders in our society to. It is cruel and unusual punishment—literally.”
On the other paw, if you listen to Michael Sandlin, Tony’s owner and president of Tiger Truck Stop, maybe the ten-year-old cat wants to stay right where he is.
“All of the tigers at Tiger Truck Stop were born in captivity, hand-raised pets, that need and desire human affection,” Sandlin writes on the truck stop’s Save Tony website. “It is our opinion that it would be just as cruel to take our tigers away from their known environment as it would be to capture a wild tiger and put it in a cage.”
Although Tony is currently the only tiger at the truck stop, Sandlin states that “Seven cubs have survived birth here, which is a better record than the national average for zoos in this country… We’ve taken a lot of heat from a few animal rights activists that say our tigers ought to be out in the wild, but we really love these cats and take the very best care of them we can. Some people have told us our cats look like they get better care than cats at a lot of the zoos.”
Saving Tony
ALDF points out that Sandlin “has been cited by the USDA [United States Department of Agriculture] due to violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including a lack of proper sanitation and improper feeding practices.”
On his website Sandlin pleads, “HELP US SAVE OUR TIGER!!!! Animal activists from out of state are trying to send our hand-raised, never in the wild, family member to a wild game preserve somewhere. They claim he is endangered here, BUT HE WILL BE THERE!!!”
Sandlin adds, “We have met every regulation and request for the tiger’s safety. He is fed well, and has our full attention. Will he be just one of dozens of tigers fending for themselves??? STOP THIS!! Tony has never been away from the truck stop or the loved ones who have raised him since he was a baby. Sign the petition and write the truck stop to save our big cat!!!”
‘You can tell your friends you saw a tiger’
Tony, who in the wild might command a territory as large as 100 square miles, lives amid “noise and diesel fumes 24 hours a day,” according to an ALDF media release, and “is also frequently harassed and taunted by visitors at the truck stop. His enclosure is devoid of adequate enrichment, such as logs, trees, or complex vegetation that would allow him to engage in natural tiger behaviors. He has no pool of water large enough to allow him to submerge himself to cool off in the blazing heat of the summer.”
“As a result of the stress of his confinement,” ALDF argues, “Tony constantly paces on the hard concrete surface of his enclosure, putting him at risk for dangerous and painful veterinary conditions.”
Along with Tony the tiger, Sandlin’s truck stop offers video poker, the Tiger Café, and the Country Store with tiger-themed souvenirs.
The company’s website proclaims, “ANYBODY can go to Louisiana and see an alligator! You can tell your friends you saw a TIGER! The only live tigers on I-10!!!”
Watch ALDF’s video on Tony the tiger narrated by Kristin Bauer van Straten.
Read more about Tony’s case.
INTERESTED IN MORE NEWS AND INFO ABOUT ANIMALS? Visit AnimalBeat.org.

http://www.examiner.com/animal-policy-in-national/true-blood-star-kristin-bauer-van-straten-works-to-free-tiger-caged-at-truck-sto

Pictures of Tony ~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED”>Pictures of Tony ~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

In “Bobby Jindal”, “corruption”, “free tony the tiger”, “grosse tete”, “maria davidson”, “michael sandlin”, “save tony the tiger”, “tiger truck stop”, “until his last breath”, louisiana on 6.24.11 at 11:48 PM

Pictures of Tony ~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED”>Pictures of Tony ~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

In “corruption”, “Free Tony The Tiger Campaign”, “grosse tete”, “help tony the tiger”, “Iberville parish”, “michael sandlin”, “tiger truck stop”, LDWF, liars, louisiana, Tony The Truck Stop Tiger on 6.24.11 at 11:38 PM

Tiger Truck Stop owner discusses tigers he has bred, sold, and ‘retired’”>Tiger Truck Stop owner discusses tigers he has bred, sold, and ‘retired’

In “animal cruelty on display”, “corruption”, “free tony the tiger”, “grosse tete”, “maria davidson”, “michael sandlin”, “tiger truck stop”, “until his last breath”, louisiana, Tony The Truck Stop Tiger on 6.24.11 at 3:23 AM

PART THREE

June 15, 2011 2:19 am ET

Katerina Lorenzatos Makris

Animal Policy Examiner

Before Tony, elderly tigers too old to exhibit were sent to sanctuaries.

Credits: Courtesy of Tiger Truck Stop

Background
In May, responding to a lawsuit by Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) against Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), State District Judge Michael R. Caldwell ruled that the agency must grant no new ownership permits to Tiger Truck Stop of Grosse Tete after the current one expires in December.
However ALDF hopes to convince Caldwell to revoke the current permit, so that the ten-year-old, 550-pound Siberian-Bengal can be removed sooner from what the group says are unhealthy, unsafe, and uncomfortable conditions in a roadside exhibit at the Interstate 10 business, and relocated to a suitable big cat sanctuary.
Recently the judge denied Tiger Truck Stop owner Michael Sandlin’s request that he be allowed to participate in court proceedings about Tony.

Q&A WITH MICHAEL SANDLIN – Part Three of Three
ANIMAL POLICY EXAMINER (APE) You sound pretty determined to keep Tony there at Tiger Truck Stop. Why is that, Mr. Sandlin?
MICHAEL SANDLIN: Well, I like Tony, and I make sure that he’s very well taken care of, and I don’t want him to go. So yes, I’m determined, and nobody likes to be pushed. I have retired cats before. I had two cats that lived in this exhibit for 18 years and had 13 cubs. I retired them to Tiger Haven. It’s outside of Knoxville, Tennessee. From what I understand the lady told me they lived another four years there and died of natural causes.
One of the first cubs that was born there at the Tiger Truck Stop, Shere Khan, he’s still alive and living there at Tiger Haven.
And two of our cubs, or cats, Sugar and Sassy, are located at the Zoo of Acadiana in Broussard, Louisiana.
I’ve traded tigers with other breeders—you know, the cubs—and I sold one to a gentleman in Florida that had a traveling animal show and had a lot of other big cats. From getting to know him, from being a truck driver, I knew that the cat would be taken care of. Her name was Gloria.
So I mean it’s just a lot of good things that have happened with the tigers and I hate to see him [Tony] go, you know?
APE: Why did the tigers you mentioned—the ones that went to the sanctuaries, for instance the one in Tennessee—why did those need to go to sanctuaries?
SANDLIN: Well, at that time the two of them, the mommy and the daddy, Toby and Rainbow, were about 19 years old. Rainbow had had 13 cubs, and she showed that. I mean, the skin on her belly hung down low. She had developed some arthritis in her back legs as a result. She didn’t walk crippled or anything but she just walked real easy on her back legs.
And so in an exhibiting situation, people would go up and they would see Rainbow, and they would see how big she was, and the skin hanging down underneath, you know, made her look so big, and she walked kind of easy. They didn’t understand that she had had 13 cubs and was 19 years old, which is very old for a tiger, so it was time to retire Toby and Rainbow due to old age and not exhibit them anymore.
And then Shere Khan, who was one of the first cubs born at the truck stop, he was a fully intact male tiger, and I had just gotten Tony at that time. And Shere Khan and Toby, although they were father and son, were enemies, you know, they were two males, and they didn’t like the idea of having to share the exhibit with each other and we had to be very careful to not let them get into direct contact with each other because they would fight and one of them would be injured.
It just made managing the exhibit, moving the tigers around for cleaning and that sort of thing, it made it a hard situation. And so I made the decision to retire Shere Khan as well, and just keep the youngest male, and that was Tony. And that’s the tiger that I have today.
APE: Who pays for the care of the tigers you gave to those sanctuaries? Is that something that’s handled by donations from their donors? Or did they ask you for help with that?
SANDLIN: Well, actually I called them to relocate Toby and Rainbow and Shere Khan, and you know, it was all friendly and above the table. But from what I understand, after they came and got Toby and Rainbow and Shere Khan, they plastered it all over their website that they rescued them, even though they did not rescue them. I called them so that they could bring in some donations.
And yes, these people depend on donations to feed and take care of their cats, So again, I understand their quest for money. My question for these groups is they take in so much money, where does all that money go? Because it’s not being spent on their animals.
APE: You mean the group that you gave those tigers to?
SANDLIN: I have no idea. I’m talking specifically about some other groups. I’m not going to— As far as I know, Tiger Haven seems to be a good place. They seem to be taking good care of their animals, so I’m not placing them in the same category as Big Cat Rescue of Tampa, Florida, or PETA that kills 97% of the animals that they take in, or The Humane Society of the United States that takes in millions of dollars every year, then rescues animals and dumps them on local shelters without giving them a penny to help take care of the animals that they dump on them.
No, I don’t have anything against Tiger Haven, other than that they were a little dishonest about stating that it was a rescue when it wasn’t.
APE: You were not required, though, to give them any funding or any money or any payment to take care of those tigers?
SANDLIN: No. I was not required to do that.
APE: You’re very upfront about the fact that you have Tony as an attraction and that he does help you pull in some business. Do you think that your business would suffer if Tony were taken away?
SANDLIN: I think the business would suffer. But at this point I’m hoping that prior to relocating Tony in the event that he ever became ill or something went wrong, or hopefully best case scenario due to old age, that between now and then that I can do some kind of major expansion and maybe put in a tiger museum as an attraction, and that at that point in time be able to replace Tony and the live tiger exhibit with some other attraction. So that’s kind of what I’m working toward. The fact that there’s a death sentence on the exhibit and once Tony is gone I can’t get any more tigers, I need to think for the future and try to move into something else.
APE: So you’re thinking about a tiger museum?
SANDLIN: Right. It would display all of the pictures and stories and all of the paraphernalia that I’ve accumulated over the years, and even go further and try to promote saving the tigers’ natural habitat in the wild, and educating the public on tigers in captivity versus tigers in the wild, and just all kinds of stuff that I could put in that museum.
It would be a good thing to do, number one, and number two, it would be an attraction that would remain for the business long after Tony is gone.
APE: That would be quite an ending for this story.
SANDLIN: Well, I think that’s a good thing to try to work toward. Unless there’s some kind of change in Louisiana law that allows people to own exotic animals, I think that’s where we have to go.
I’d be glad if the law changed, but if not, I think that’s what’s in front of me. It would be good to, number one, do some kind of major expansion and number two, I think the museum’s a good idea whether there’s a tiger there or not. But I think it would be a way—once Tony’s gone and there are no tigers to still promote and educate the public—to promote tigers’ survival in the wild and that sort of thing. And maybe be supportive of some of the good organizations that are out there.
APE: If you do succeed in keeping Tony there, are you saying that— I might have misunderstood, but did you mention that you might be doing an expansion of his habitat?
SANDLIN: Well, I mean, you know that’s always a possibility as well. I think Tony’s habitat is adequate, but there are always things that can be done to improve it. There’s a lot of things that can be done to improve his current situation.
It’s a shame that all this money is having to be spent on attorneys and fighting with these people. But that seems to be what they’re interested in doing. Outside of the Louisiana Humane Society, which in October brought out some pumpkins and chew toys and meaty bones, and I allowed them to give them to Tony, they are the only ones that have ever spent one red cent or lifted one finger to do anything that benefited Tony.
All of these other groups simply want to spread their lies and raise their money, and take in the donations from exploiting Tony that way, and aren’t concerned about doing anything to help Tony in his current situation. They simply want to take him away from me.
The fact that Tony is there because of the idea to have an attraction—I know it’s something that they have accused me of, but it’s not something that I’ve ever denied. You know, you can come to Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete and you can see Tony for free. If you want to go to some of these other sanctuaries then you can pay big money and go in and see their cats, you know? Go figure. But Tony doesn’t depend on the next donation to be fed. He doesn’t have to compete with 150 other big cats for attention or veterinary care or anything. He has one-on-one attention and he’s in a good place right where he’s at.
APE: Thank you, Mr. Sandlin. Really appreciate your spending this time with us today.
SANDLIN: I appreciate your letting me tell my side of the story.
Please check this page again soon for reactions to this interview from animal rescue organizations.button above.
To voice your opinion about the future of Tony the tiger, contact Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
For previous articles about Tony the tiger case please click on ‘Animal Policy Examiner’ above.

Katerina Lorenzatos Makris (a.k.a. Kathryn Makris) has written 18 books for major publishers and hundreds of articles for publications such as National Geographic Traveler, San Francisco Chronicle, Mother Jones, Petside.com, and two regional news wire services.
A cofounder of AnimalBeat.org, she holds a B.A. in Environmental Science Studies and a lifelong interest in animal issues.

http://www.examiner.com/animal-policy-in-national/tiger-truck-stop-owner-discusses-tigers-he-has-bred-sold-and-retired

™FREE TONY THE TIGER CAMPAIGN STARTED JANUARY 31, 2008

Tony’s J0urney UPDATE: On December 14, 2010 The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries renewed their permit to Tony’s owner, Michael Sandlin allowing him to keep and display Tony at the truck stop. http://tiny.cc/pn0iv The permit renewal by no means discourages us to continue advocating for Tony and for the … Continue reading »

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Lies About Tony ~ Video by: Tiger Truck Stop ~ Michael Sandlin

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 04:10:02 +0000

Lies About Tony ~ Video by: Tiger Truck Stop

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 04:05:00 +0000

ALDF Files Suit to Free Tony the Truck Stop Tiger

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 18:48:00 +0000

Update
June 21, 2011: A hearing is now scheduled for July 22.

June 14, 2011: The hearing scheduled for June 14 has been postponed to a later date yet to be determined. The hearing was continued to provide the Department an opportunity to conduct discovery, an essential stage of the litigation process.

June 3, 2011: The Animal Legal Defense Fund recently filed a motion for a mandatory injunction that would compel the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to revoke the current permit and seize Tony—meaning that Tony would not have to wait until December to experience his new life beyond the Tiger Truck Stop. Although this specific request was part of ALDF’s original complaint, the court did not rule on it at the hearing last month. A new hearing on the motion for a mandatory injunction has been set for June 14. Stay tuned for updates as soon as they become available.
May 6, 2011: Victory for Tony! This morning, a judge in East Baton Rouge District Court granted the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s request for a permanent injunction against the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, preventing the Department from renewing the annual permit that allows Michael Sandlin, owner of Grosse Tete’s Tiger Truck Stop, to display Tony. When the current permit expires in December 2011, Sandlin will no longer be able to keep Tony confined as a roadside exhibit at the truck stop where he has languished for over a decade. Read more…
April 11, 2011
The stench of fuel. The deafening sound of diesel engines. The neverending boredom of captivity and isolation. Such are the conditions in which Tony, a 10-year-old Siberian-Bengal tiger, has spent every day and night of the last decade at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana. It’s no life for a tiger, or any other animal. That’s why the Animal Legal Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit in Louisiana, arguing that the permit that allows Tony to languish in a roadside cage violates state law.

Kristin Bauer, the actress who portrays the lovely-but-lethal vampire Pam on HBO’s award-winning True Blood, has teamed with the Animal Legal Defense Fund in the fight to free Tony.

Tony’s Tragedy
In addition to being subjected to noise and diesel fumes 24-hours a day, Tony is also frequently harassed and taunted by visitors at the truck stop. His enclosure is devoid of adequate enrichment, such as logs, trees, or complex vegetation that would allow him to engage in natural tiger behaviors. He has no pool of water large enough to allow him to submerge himself to cool off in the blazing heat of the summer. As a result of the stress of his confinement, Tony constantly paces on the hard concrete surface of his enclosure, putting him at risk for dangerous and painful veterinary conditions. Michael Sandlin, the owner of Tony and the truck stop, has been cited by the USDA due to violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including a lack of proper sanitation and improper feeding practices.

Year after year of living at the Tiger Truck Stop have taken their toll on Tony’s health. The ambient noise from the nearby freeway and the idling trucks, their diesel engines spewing noxious fumes directly into his enclosure, is painful and obtrusive to an animal with such sensitive hearing and an acute sense of smell, says veterinarian Jennifer Conrad, who has 16 years of experience with captive large cats and has visited Tony. “Based on what I have observed of Tony’s enclosure at the Tiger Truck Stop and his behavior from video and photographs, it is my professional opinion that this tiger is in poor condition and needs intervention on his behalf,” she says.

ALDF’s Argument
On April 11, 2011, ALDF filed a lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and its secretary Robert Barham, arguing that he violated state law in granting a permit allowing Sandlin to exhibit Tony at the Tiger Truck Stop. Joining ALDF as a co-plaintiff in the case is former Louisiana Representative Warren Triche, who authored the state’s law which led to the ban on the private ownership of tigers. Two other Louisiana residents, also deeply concerned by Tony’s long-time suffering, are additional co-plaintiffs.

At the heart of ALDF’s position is the fact that Sandlin’s current housing of Tony violates state and local laws. In 2006, the Louisiana state legislature unanimously passed Act 715, which required LDWF to control the private ownership of big cats. The department enacted regulations prohibiting citizens from keeping a tiger as a pet or exhibiting a tiger in the state. In passing these regulations, the department rightly declared that possession of big cats and certain other exotic animals poses significant hazards to public safety and health and is detrimental to the welfare of the animals.

The regulations provided an exception, however: individuals who legally owned big cats as of August 15, 2006, were grandfathered in. These owners would need to apply for an annual permit from the LDWF. An ordinance passed in Sandlin’s parish of Iberville in 1993 made it illegal for anyone to keep a tiger or other large exotic cat on his or her premises for exhibition. In other words, Sandlin did not qualify for the exception because he was not in legal possession of Tony. In addition, Sandlin is ineligible for the state’s grandfathering provision because he does not live on the premises where Tony is kept, contrary to regulations.

Despite the fact that Sandlin was ineligible for a grandfather permit, the LDWF nonetheless issued him one. ALDF is taking the department to court to invalidate this illegally-issued permit.—and free Tony from his troubled life at the truck stop.

Take Action
Join the Animal Legal Defense Fund in urging the state of Louisiana to revoke the permit that allows Tony to be kept at the Tiger Truck Stop—a permit that violates both state and local ordinances designed to protect people and wild animals like Tony.

Sign the petition to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries now!

http://aldf.org/article.php?id=1675

Lies About Tony ~ by: tigertruckstop VIDEO #2

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:48:00 +0000

THE VIDEO SHOULD BE TITLED TONY’S LIFE OF HELL!!!

OFFICIAL COURT DOCUMENTS AND RULINGS RE: ALDF VS. LDWF AND SANDLINS FILING

FREE TONY THE TIGER — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:40:00 +0000

THESE DOCUMENTS WERE RECEIVED TODAY IN THE MAIL COURTESY OF A GOOD FRIEND IN LOUISIANA, AND A GOOD FRIEND TO TONY AND TO THIS CAMPAIGN. THANK YOU MJH.

LINK TO DOCUMENTS: http://bit.ly/jiXe6h

WE WILL SHARE THE TRUTH REGARDLESS OF THE OUTCOME. WE ARE ALWAYS WORKING DAILY BEHIND THE SCENES FOR TONY, ALWAYS FIGHTING FOR HIS FREEDOM.
THANK YOU FOR ROARING FOR TONY. UNTIL THAT CAGE IS EMPTY WE HAVE TO STAY VIGILANT.

“In fact, if one person is unkind to an animal it is considered to be cruelty, but where a lot of people are unkind to animals, especially in the name of commerce, the cruelty is condoned and, once large sums of money are at stake, will be defended to the last by otherwise intelligent people.” — Ruth Harrison Animal Machines.

THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE…

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I Can't Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand....Michael Sandlin

USA TODAY ~ Ruling in Tiger Truck Stop case tossed

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Latest local, national & international news from the Associated Press http://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/ruling-in-tiger-truck-stop-case-tossed/cf9f7a8a06724e188b7b6e79216c2eb2

Ruling in Tiger Truck Stop case tossed

Ruling in Tiger Truck Stop case tossed

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Animal Legal Defense Fund's Reply To "Appeals Court Overturns Tiger Truck Stop Decision" 8.29.2011

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Tiger Truck Stop Celebrates National Truck Driver Appreciation Week

Saving Tony The Tiger

by The Pawz Cauze Show

LIES ABOUT CARING PEOPLE TRYING TO HELP TONY.

Update On Tony’s Legal Battle – Courtesy Mary Haik

Updates On Tony

From Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell: Tiger Tug-Of-War

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Lies About Tony ~ Video by: Tiger Truck Stop ~ Michael Sandlin

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Lies About Tony ~ Video by: Tiger Truck Stop

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ALDF Files Suit to Free Tony the Truck Stop Tiger

Lies About Tony ~ by: tigertruckstop VIDEO #2

OFFICIAL COURT DOCUMENTS AND RULINGS RE: ALDF VS. LDWF AND SANDLINS FILING

THESE DOCUMENTS WERE RECEIVED TODAY IN THE MAIL COURTESY OF A GOOD FRIEND IN LOUISIANA, AND A GOOD FRIEND TO TONY AND TO THIS CAMPAIGN. THANK YOU MJH.

Latest local, national & international news from the Associated Press

http://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/ruling-in-tiger-truck-stop-case-tossed/cf9f7a8a06724e188b7b6e79216c2eb2