White Tigers: Conserving a Lie

White Tigers: Conserving a Lie

February 8th, 2010

This week Advocacy for Animals is pleased to publish this article by Sharyn Beach, a librarian, writer, and Big Cat Rescue volunteer, on a common but misguided notion of conservation and its tragic consequences for the lives of white tigers. (For more information about Big Cat Rescue, see Advocacy’s articles Big Cat Rescue and Big Cat Bailout.)

Conservation?

Conservation. It is a word that we hear and repeat often. Ubiquitous in the media, it often conjures up a warm feeling, but as a concept conservation is largely misunderstood. Most of us view it solely in terms of individual species: if the number of animals of a certain species is sufficiently great, particularly if it is a species that we happen to like or find charismatic, “conservation” has been achieved, and we may check it off our collective to-do list. Upon closer inspection, though, we see that this conclusion is fundamentally flawed and is not only not preventing endangerment and extinction but is often leaving a trail of suffering in its wake.

The basic problem is that this limited view of conservation fails to consider the big picture—namely, the habitat in which the species that we are trying to save from extinction lives, on which it depends for its survival, and in which each animal makes a unique and significant contribution. It fails to consider the complex interrelationships between species and living systems and lulls us into believing that, as long as we have enough animals living in cages, we need do nothing about the destruction of the places they once called home; nor need we consider how certain animals do or do not fit into those places.

Perhaps no other single species embodies the conservation issue more than the tiger. Sleek and graceful, powerful and exotic, the tiger is the very definition of “charismatic mega fauna,” yet their numbers in the wild have dropped more than 95 percent in just 100 years. We respond intensely to the bold orange-and-black felines, and sometimes even more so to the almost mystical white tiger. Their ghostly white appearance and searing blue eyes are difficult to ignore. Because we are fascinated with things we consider to be rare–like gold–we value the white tiger for its rarity, and find a ready rationalization for perpetuating its existence by simply engaging one, perhaps now meaningless, word: conservation. If orange-and-black tigers are facing such a gloomy future in the wild, then, we conclude, surely the rare white tiger is in the most trouble: it could be the “poster child” for the wreckage that the reckless attitudes of human beings have left in what we used to call wild places.

But if there is any issue for which the white tiger is a poster child, it is our faulty understanding of conservation. The headlines are all too familiar: this zoo or that performer is breeding white tigers to save them from extinction and restore them to their native habitats. The media and the public adore such stories, but the heartwarming and short-lived nature of today’s news belies the real story that will surface for the white tiger cubs tomorrow. The truth is difficult for many people to accept. White tigers are not a species and do not have a native habitat. Tigers do not inhabit any section of the globe in which it would be advantageous for their survival to be white.

A Question of Biology

What we call the “royal” white tiger is in fact a genetic anomaly, caused by a double recessive gene occurring so rarely in nature that experts estimate that only one in every 10,000 tigers born in the wild is white. This anomaly, called “leucism,” prevents the pigment from coloring the skin and fur and, more importantly, robs the animal of a main tool for survival—camouflage. Without proper coloring, the ambush technique upon which tigers depend for catching food is seriously compromised. If anyone were foolish enough to attempt to release a white tiger into any habitat that tigers normally occupy, there is a good chance it would starve to death. Dr. Dan Laughlin, an international consultant on the care of zoological animals, stated it well in “The White Tiger Fraud,” an article written for the Web site of Big Cat Rescue: “when a deleterious recessive genetic mutation randomly occurs that is disadvantageous for the survival of the animal, such as white color in a tropical jungle environment, the animal does not survive to pass on that genetic mutation or disadvantageous characteristic to its offspring” (italics added). In other words, cruel as it may sound, nature does not provide a place for the white tiger.

If nature is designed to prevent the survival of genetic mutations that are a danger to the survival of an entire species, then why do we see white tigers in zoos and circuses across the United States? The answer is simple: they are produced by inbreeding. In an essay published on the Web site of Save the Tiger Fund, Ron Tilson, conservation director of the Minnesota Zoo, writes: “to produce white tigers or any other phenotypic curiosity, directors of zoos and facilities must continuously inbreed, father to daughter, to granddaughter, and so on.” According to Laughlin, in addition to the now famous and severely inbred line of white Bengal tigers that can be traced back to Mohan, a white tiger taken as a cub out of the wild in 1951 and bred back to his daughter and grand-daughters, “a second and separate origin of the white tiger … occurred spontaneously in two separate private collections in [the United States], when both owners inbred brothers to sisters.” Experts agree that genetic diversity is vital to the health of both individuals and entire populations of species. The most critically endangered felines, such as the South China tiger and the Amur leopard, are considered to be functionally extinct by some experts because with numbers as low as 20 or 30, inbreeding is inevitable. Yet in the case of the white tiger, the breeding of mothers to sons and fathers to daughters is commonplace. And there is a price to be paid for it.

White tigers endure a host of health problems about which the public is largely unaware, including immune system deficiencies that cause many to live miserable and short lives, scoliosis of the spine, hip dysplasia, neurological disorders, cleft palates, and protruding, bulging eyes. Many are stillborn and many more turn out to be too deformed to display. Among the ones that look pretty, according to some tiger trainers, only one in 30 will consistently perform.

At this point someone must face the question rarely asked by the reporters who happily recounted the birth of the white-tiger cubs: what now? What happens to the 29 out of 30 white tigers that were too dull and sick to perform? We know that they could not have been, and will never be, released into the wild. The lucky ones will find permanent homes in accredited sanctuaries, but the majority will either be killed or sold to traveling zoos, circuses, and wildlife centers, living lives in quarters that are often cramped, filthy, and rarely inspected.

There is yet another side to this sad story. What becomes of the orange-and-black cubs (by far the majority) born to parents who were specifically paired to render the desirable white coloring? Their fate will most likely includawe becoming victims of canned hunts, being sold into the exotic pet trade to live out their lives as breeding animals, or being killed and dismembered, their parts shipped to markets in Asia (see the Advocacy for Animals article Fighting for Tigers). Virtually none of them will join their wild counterparts for the purpose of repopulating their severely dwindling numbers. They will never see the wild lands from which their forebears were taken.

Taking Responsibility

Meanwhile, healthy, wild tigers, able to engage in the activities for which tigers were designed, disappear at alarming rates. Just 100 years ago, there were approximately 100,000 tigers living in the wild; some experts estimate that fewer than 3,500 individuals roam the forests of our world today. Three subspecies of tigers are gone forever, and the South China tiger is well on its way to joining their ranks.

If the relentless breeding of white tigers has nothing to do with conservation, and the resulting animals are sick and doomed to life in a cage, then why do people continue to breed them? We do not have to look far to find the answer. The trade in white tigers is lucrative. White tiger cubs have fetched as much as $60,000 a piece. According to Tilson, “white tigers are an aberration artificially bred and proliferated by a few zoos, private breeders, and circus folks, who do this for economic rather than conservation reasons.” Countless thousands of dollars pass through the hands of those who trade these animals like a commodity—countless thousands that do nothing to stop the poaching of wild tigers, do nothing to stave off the destruction of wild tiger habitats, and serve only to keep dignified creatures behind bars. Do we really value genetic mutations more than the habitat in which healthy wild tigers live and thrive?

Laughlin believes that “the genealogical misrepresentation, repeated inbreeding, exhibition and sale … of white tigers … initiated the greatest conservation deception of the American public in history.” The insidiousness of this deception is that the heartwarming stories of individual cubs being born again and again creates the illusion that we are doing something. It creates the illusion that the so-called experts are solving the problems that we create with our own complacency.

It is time to face the issue squarely. There can be no conservation of species without conservation of habitats, and there can be no conservation of habitats without conservation of entire ecosystems; therefore, we are accountable for how our actions affect those ecosystems, in every choice that we make. Conservation. It is not about the white tiger. It is about us.

Will our fascination with tigers give them back the dignified, free life that they had earned by surviving every hardship nature threw at them before we came along? Or will we be satisfied that we have done our job by having enough of them living in cages, performing tricks, and dazzling us with genetic deformities we would never dream of perpetuating in humans? If we choose the second option, then there is one more reality that we must be willing to accept. If we pull animals that we like out of the sinking ship that is their destroyed habitat, put them in cages, and call it a day, every single species that we do not find charismatic goes down with that ship. And with them go clues that could unlock the mysteries of the natural world—along with answers to questions that we perhaps no longer deem fundamental, because we have so thoroughly removed ourselves from that world. It begs one of those fundamental questions: if we can’t let other creatures assume their own roles in the broader ecosystem, how can we assume ours?

—Sharyn Beach

Images: white tigers with deformities—courtesy Big Cat Rescue.

http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2010/02/white-tigers-conserving-misery/

Goa forest dept mum on tiger report

Goa forest dept mum on tiger report

STAFF WRITER 14:27 HRS IST

Panaji, Feb 6 (PTI) Goa Forest department has maintained an uncanny silence over a Wildlife Institute of India’s (WII) report which confirmed that a tiger was killed in the state last year.

Highly placed sources said that the report reached the office of deputy conservator of forest G T Kumar two weeks back.

Kumar, however, talking to PTI said that “he cannot reveal anything from the report.”

The tiger was poached in Keri village, 60 kms away from here, in February last year.

State Forest Minister Philip Nery Rodrigues said that chief conservator of forest Dr Shashi Kumar, who is currently out of station, has telephonically confirmed receipt of the report.

“Government will get the detailed report from the department and only after that it will comment,” Rodrigues said.

The minister said that the future course of action will depend on the report.

http://www.ptinews.com/news/503680_Goa-forest-dept-mum-on-tiger-report

Many trails, few tails

Many trails, few tails

TNN, 7 February 2010, 06:59am IST

NAGPUR: Less than two years ago, a colleague had counted 14 tigers inside two days in this range. It got so monotonous that the last tiger was insulted with just a cursory glance. So, when it came to volunteering for the Monitoring Tigers, Co-Predators, Prey and Their Habitats programme, or simply put the tiger census, the Kolsa range was the obvious choice.

With the vision of hindsight, perhaps we should have opted for any other range in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve which is spread over 625 sq km and is about a three-hour drive from Nagpur. For, when it comes to census, tigers are reluctant to reveal themselves for a head count. They prefer the sanctity of the thick bamboo and other trees, and also the chest-high hay-coloured grass, bushes and other growth that can camouflage even a giraffe.

From AB’s ode to tigers in ‘Mr Natwarlal’ to Himesh Reshamiyya’s ‘Jhalak Dikhlaaja’, the volunteers tried everything to appease it for a solitary sighting. The real meaning of bad luck hits you when, after a wonderful week in the forests, you don’t spot a single stripe.

“You got to get lucky to spot a tiger,” said a self-styled expert. “But consider yourself lucky that you got to spend so many days in the forest where few have gone before.”

You can pay the nominal fee to enter the forest as a tourist. But the accompanying guide will not permit you to even open the vehicle door. And here we are, eight of us, walking not just on motorable paths but swaying through the thick undergrowth of the forests. Sometimes, we took the beaten path. On other occasions, where we walked became a path.

What are the qualifications needed to participate in such an exercise? Can just about anybody volunteer? Yes. All you require is loads of patience, strong legs, the ability to remain silent for long hours and rough it out, and a passion for wild life. Within a day, you become an expert. After a week, you are qualified to sit on a wild life committee!

In Kolsa, apart from a few of us from Nagpur, there were five from ‘Lion Country’ Junagadh, three from Chandrapur and another four from Hyderabad. Yet, the 200.97 sq km range could have done with 100 more volunteers.

Not spotting a single tiger or any of the 100-odd bears doesn’t mean that their population is on the wane. So much evidence and data was collected that it appears that 200.97 sq km is just not big enough for the tiger population. Forest officers estimate that there are between 12 to 20 tigers in Kolsa. Plus, other carnivores like leopards and wild dogs.

Herbivores like bisons, cheetals, sambars, barking deer, wild boars, rabbits, peacocks and many others are so much in number that no carnivore will ever remain hungry. The thick forests of the range, now dwindling due to human encroachment and illicit felling of bamboo and teak trees, are an ideal home for many species of animals.

“Incest is common amongst tigers,” said a forest official. “There are not many corridors for tigers to move about to other forest areas of the region and this leads to mating among siblings and, even a tigress and its own cub. The gene pool is gradually weakening.”

The season being still winter, there’s still plenty of water in the nullahs, rivers and ponds. Come summer, the animals shed their shyness and willingly reveal themselves at all the water holes. Every volunteer spotted fresh tiger pug marks and scat after walking barely 100 metres on their respective beats (the range was divided into many beats and then to compartments). Warning calls by monkeys and deer would indicate the presence of a carnivore a few feet away. You can smell one. But, to spot one you have to get lucky.

“This exercise is not to take a head count of tigers,” clarified field director Sanjay Thakre, “but to collect data to be analysed by experts.”

Until then, tiger lovers will continue singing AB’s ode in the fervent hope that there is a healthy increase to the national figure of 1411 that was arrived at after the last census four years ago.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Many-trails-few-tails/articleshow/5544059.cms

Census over, fingers crossed over exact number

Census over, fingers crossed over exact number

TNN, 7 February 2010, 06:57am IST

NAGPUR: The first phase of the six-day exercise undertaken by the forest department to monitor tigers, co-predators, prey and their habitat concluded in protected and non-protected tiger-bearing areas of the state on February 3. The exercise was conducted with revised and refined line transect methodology. The figures are likely to be declared after six months.

In Maharashtra, the exercise was conducted in over 6,000 beats in protected (PAs) as well as non-protected areas (NPAs), including tiger-bearing patches of Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM) in Chandrapur and Gondia districts. Over 200 volunteers actively participated in the exercise in Melghat, Pench and Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserves and PAs like Bor, Nagzira and Navegaon. Barring Nagzira and Navegaon, where the exercise was conducted from January 27 to February 1, in other areas it was held between January 29 and February 3.

In the first phase (Jan 29-31), field staff obtained data on the presence and intensity of use of a beat by tigers and other carnivores like leopards, wild dogs, sloth bears and jackals. Each search covered around 12-15 km distance, having the best potential for tiger presence. For each transect, beginning and end point co-ordinates (latitude & longitude) was recorded by a global positioning system (GPS).

Since tigers and leopards have a tendency of using dirt roads, trails, footpaths, river beds and nullahs, these landscapes in the beat were searched intensively. The search for tiger and leopard signs included pugmark trails, scat, scrape and scent marks, rake marks on tree trunks, roaring and actual sighting.

In the second phase (Feb 1-3), sampling for ungulate (relating for animals with hooves) encounter rates was done by the field staff and volunteers while walking along fixed line transects of 2 km in a beat. Here, data on vegetation, terrain, forest type, direct sightings of animals, habitat category and human disturbance too was recorded.

The volunteers also helped the field staff sample vegetation along the transects. Signs of wood-cutting, presence of humans, trails, livestock herbs, grasses, litter and bare ground was also recorded. Sampling for faecal pellets of animals with hooves was also done to know their abundance.

Although there were many who applied for the exercise, only a few turned up. At many places, only 50% of those registered actually participated. In TATR, conservator & field director SP Thakre said that 107 volunteers had applied but only 58 participated.

“Our staff was ready for the entire exercise sans volunteers too. The TATR is teeming with evidence of tigers and there was great enthusiasm among wildlife buffs. We traced evidence in almost every beat. There were even direct sightings in Kolsa and Tadoba ranges,” Thakre told TOI.

In Tadoba, field staff found evidence of tiger scat having eaten a leopard. “Six nails suspected to be of a leopard have been found in the scat, which was one-month-old, near Pandharpaoni. The samples will have to be analysed,” he said.

In Nagzira (152 sq km) there was good response from volunteers. MM Kulkarni, deputy conservator of forests (DyCF) for Gondia Wildlife Division, informed of the 24 who registered, 20 took part. Evidence was traced in almost all the beats. There was direct sighting of a bear.

CS Reddy, RFO of Bor Sanctuary, said tiger evidence was found in 8 beats. “We also found evidence of panther,” he said.

In Pench too, there was evidence of fair number of tigers in various beats.

GK Vashisht, ACF for Pench Tiger Reserve, informed that all forested beats in tiger landscapes (tiger reserves, PAs, reserve and protected forests, revenue forests) will be sampled once in four years. However, all source populations of tigers in reserves and PAs will be sampled with this protocol twice in a year in summer and winter. The data will be compiled at the circle level before being sent to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

In Kolsa, volunteers like Dinesh Visavadia and Nishant Adhiya and others who came from Junagadh in Gujarat enjoyed the exercise. “We travelled 1200 kms to know about tigers,” remarked Visavadia.

The new system was introduced by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, on the recommendations of Tiger Task Force (TTF) set up after the Sariska debacle. The earlier method of taking pug-marks, introduced in the 70s, was directly related to the number of particular animals. It was withdrawn after 2007.

As per the official estimation of tigers and panthers in 2007, there are 148 tigers and 292 panthers in the 42 protected areas (PAs) in the state. However, as per the last circle-wise estimation, which is conducted once in four years and was last held in 2005, the state has a record of 268 tigers and 717 leopards. Amid poaching pressures, it’s too early to guess what will be the population of carnivores this time.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Census-over-fingers-crossed-over-exact-number/articleshow/5544063.cms

Orang Asli fights off tiger with rock

Orang Asli fights off tiger with rock

By Sylvia Looi
Sunday February 7, 2010

IPOH: Orang Asli Yok Meneh has been foraging in the forest for years bringing home petai and other vegetation. Yesterday, the usual uneventful trek became a harrowing one for the Semai when a tiger pounced on him.

But the 47-year-old is not one to be easily done in. He summoned up courage and fought the animal with his hands and a rock. And the human won. The animal slunk away.

The attack left Yok Meneh with a gaping wound measuring 15.2cm (6in) long and 10cm (4in) deep on his back. He also suffered injuries to his hands and legs from fighting back.

“In all my years of going into the forest to collect produce, this is the first time I have been attacked by a tiger,” said Yok Meneh,from his bed at the Teluk Intan Hospital.

He was in the forest near his house at Kampung Ras in Sungkai, about 80km from here, when the incident happened.

“I was so engrossed in collecting petai that I did not notice the tiger had crept up behind me,” he said, adding that the tiger was silent until it had pounced on him and pinned him down.

“And then it started growling and growling. I shouted for help before it sunk in that I was all alone and no one could save me.

“The moment I realised I had to save myself I tried to grab anything I could with my hands.

“I found a rock, grabbed it and fought back, hitting the tiger on its head again and again until it slunk away.”

The feisty orang asli then dragged himself about 1.6km out of the forest to his home.

When his wife saw him bedraggled and bleeding, she sought the help of a worker from a nearby oil palm estate to take him to a clinic.

However, because of the severity of his injuries, Yok Meneh was transferred to the Teluk Intan Hospital for treatment.

Asked whether the attack would deter him from going back into the forest, Yok Meneh said he had no choice but to continue as his family’s survival depended on the produce he collected.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/2/7/nation/5631287&sec=nation

Man-animal conflict returns, tiger kills one more in TATR

Man-animal conflict returns, tiger kills one more in TATR

Vivek Deshpande
Posted: Sunday , Feb 07, 2010 at 0625 hrs

The animal-human conflict in the northern Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) landscape has staged a deadly comeback after about a year, with three women getting killed by tiger in three consecutive days, the latest one on Saturday morning.

Victims Nalubai Ghodmare, Suderabai Nannaware and Manda Torpakwar were attacked by the tiger while they were collecting firewood in the forest in Mul and Sindewahi tehsils. All the deaths happened within 15-20 km, suggesting possibility of a single tiger being involved.

The death tally in the conflict since 2006 has gone up to 60, with over 25 others been injured.

Earlier, in December, tiger had killed two persons and had injured one in the same area, taking the death toll to five in less than two months. The conflict had peaked in 2008 with 25 deaths in TATR. In December 2007, a tiger, which had killed four persons in a month in the adjoining Talodhi range, had to be shot dead.

A special Corridor Conservation Programme (CCP) was launched in 2008 to contain the damage. The conflict had suddenly stopped after only one human death in January 2009.

Moreover, in the lull period, many tiger deaths and disappearances were reported from the area, suggesting cessation of the conflict. However, an expenditure of Rs 37 lakh and ten months later, the conflict has resumed with the recent deaths.

“In the latest cases, we don’t know if it’s a tigress with cubs or a single tiger. We will assess the situation first before taking any decision,” said Chief Conservator of Forest Nandkishor who visited the area on Saturday.

“This case is different than Talodhi incident where the tiger was coming out and killing people. So, we can’t say this is a problem animal. We will give it a thought and see what best can be done under the circumstances,” Nandkishor added.

Wildlife activist Nitin Desai said, “I agree. But any response will have to strike a balance between people and tiger. As long as the animal is very much within its habitat, it can’t be branded as a problem animal.”

Incidentally, most of the tiger attacks happen on women who go to forest to collect firewood. Asked why firewood isn’t reached by the Forest Department as mandated under CCP, Nandkishor said, “That may help only in cases where women go to collect firewood for their own hearths. But many of them collect it for livelihood. That can’t be provided under the scheme. But, yes, the villagers can be given alternative livelihood under schemes such as NREGA. Only the Forest Department can’t do it. All departments will have to chip in.”

Says Poonam Dhanwatey of Tiger Research and Conservation Trust (TRACT), the NGO implementing CCP along with the Forest Department: “We first need to keep villagers away from forest, identify the animal whether it’s a female with cubs or an old or injured tiger and then lure it away to prevent further attacks.”

In 2009-10, however, CCP hasn’t yet got any of the Rs 21 lakh sanctioned in the budget

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mananimal-conflict-returns-tiger-kills-one-more-in-tatr/576677/0

Animal seizure hearing delayed

Animal seizure hearing delayed

By Robin Y. Richardson
Friday, February 05, 2010

Testimony began Thursday in Marion County’s district courtroom in the disposition hearing for the seizure of more than 50 animals from 950 Lewis Chapel Road, where former circus queen Barbara Hoffman and her business partner, Fred Lulling, reside.

However, Judge Lex Jones, approved to postpone the remainder of the hearing to Feb. 16 after the involved parties spent two hours after lunch trying to no avail to negotiate where to place the animals. All parties seemed pleased with the postponement.

“That’ll give me time to find an interpreter (for Lulling),” said Marion County District Attorney Bill Gleason.

Lulling’s attorney, Bruce Abraham, had complained earlier in the hearing about the lack of an interpreter for his hearing impaired client, who had to communicate through notes and sign language from Ms. Hoffman Thursday.

“I cannot convey all that to my client without an interpreter,” Abraham said of negotiation discussions from the D.A. “You can’t explain tones of voice and threats in writing.”

Gleason said his office had tried to search for an interpreter in Harrison and Gregg counties as well as in Tyler and Dallas for Thursday’s hearing, but didn’t have any luck.

“The one in Dallas charged $135 an hour,” he said, adding the one in Tyler was busy.

“He’s not going to jail so it doesn’t affect his (substantial) rights,” Gleason explained. “There’s no civil or criminal penalties at this time other than forfeiture.”

He agreed, however, to find an interpreter for the next court date.

In addition to finding an interpreter, Gleason said the postponement would also give Juan Jesus Davenport, the legal owner of the seized horses, time to bring equipment to transport them. Davenport, who came to the hearing to reclaim his animals, said he had loaned them to Ms. Hoffman to use in her proposed educational programs.

“He has a claim to the four Shetlands and two minis,” Gleason informed.

Attorney James Finstrom, who is representing Ms. Hoffman, said the postponement will also give Ms. Hoffman and Lulling, who are business partners and engaged, time to construct and set up their property to meet approval.

“It would be (treated) kind of like a CPS case — (try to) seek some kind of reunification of some if not all of the animals (with its owners),” Abraham said as he explained his goal of reuniting the animals with his clients.

“(Only) with the understanding that some CPS cases end up with parental rights terminated,” Gleason chimed in.

“I really didn’t think you needed to say that Mr. Gleason,” Abraham fired back.

Ms. Hoffman and Lulling were arrested last Wednesday for six counts of animal cruelty after county and state officials seized domestic and exotic animals, including 10 jungle cats.

Their bond was set at $30,000 each.

Officials obtained a warrant to seize the animals after being notified that they were illegally harboring the wild cats.

Gleason informed the judge Thursday that an agreement has now been reached regarding the cats. All parties, including Lulling and Ms. Hoffman, signed as a witness on the agreement, which involves dropping criminal charges against Ms. Hoffman and Lulling and giving the wild cats to Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue.

The wild cats included six tigers, one cougar, two black panthers and one spotted leopard.

They currently remain the property of Marion County until the county turns them over to Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue.

“They’ll be down here next week,” Gleason said.

Gleason said Ms. Hoffman will be able to visit the wild cats to say her final goodbyes before they leave. She has also volunteered to remove the collars from the cougars and tigers at the request of Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue.

“The Big Cat Rescue doesn’t like collars on the cats,” Gleason explained, sharing county officials were afraid to go in and take them off.

“So the big cats are not an issue now. The only issue is the smaller animals.”

Gleason said since Ms. Hoffman is particularly fond of the monkey, he agreed to return it to her.

“The animals are safe and secure except that they are a burden on Dr. Hedges,” Gleason added.

Dr. Carol Hedges, a local veterinarian who assisted at the seizure and is now housing most of the animals, testified that most animals “appeared to be in good health.” However, she considers their cramped confinement to be “animal cruelty.”

“The coatimundi was in a small dog crate,” she said, adding she has an outbreak of flies now in her office because of the animals’ soiled bedding.

“Out of all of them (the animals), I’m not even comfortable with returning the monkey,” the veterinarian said.

Abraham asked if the county was committing cruelty to the big cats since they are still confined in the small cages.

“The cruelty was kind of forced upon us,” Gleason said. “We can’t go to Wal-mart and buy a tiger cage, can we?”

“You can go to Lowe’s,” Abraham charged.

During presentation of evidence, the district attorney showed a videotape of the seizure, shot by Marion County Deputy Shawn Cox as Gleason did an inventory of the animals.

The video showed a semi-trailer filled with cats, dogs, rats and a possum. A camper trailer filled with several cats, birds, reptiles and other exotics was also seen.

“The ammonia in the air was super strong. It was hard to even cough or sniff the whole time I was taking the thing,” said Cox.

Cox said urine and feces covered the floor of the semi-trailer.

“The floor was rotting,” Dr. Hedges added. “There were places in there I felt I was going to fall through.”

“The canines and the felines in the trailer were not being taken care of properly,” she said. “The ability of light and air flow was limited. Some of the cages in there had no doors on them.”

Cox described how the ducks, geese and a rabbit were “cooped up” in the middle of the property in pens. He also shared how miniature horses had been in a kennel.

“That seems odd to me,” he said.

The video also showed a couple of dogs linked together on a tractor rig.

“They couldn’t move around,” Cox said.

He further described how inside the 36-foot long camper lived a wallaby, a South American raccoon, numerous large birds, large tortoises, smaller turtles, tarantulas, six doves, sugar gliders, two iguanas, 11 cats, snakes and others. In the bedroom were a few more cats, doves and pigeons.

“We were not aware of these animals until the search warrant,” Cox said.

In answering Finstrom’s question regarding the welfare of the animals, Cox agreed the animals in the camper as well as the goats and horses appeared to be in “pretty good shape.”

“I believe the animals were being fed and taken care of,” the deputy said.

However, he too thought their confinement was too small.

“I don’t think they were physically abused, but housing them in a small area is cruel,” he said.

“You can actually call it wall-to-wall animal crates in the trailer,” Dr. Hedges said, echoing his sentiments. “The stench of ammonia was higher than I’ve ever smelled.”

Dr. Hedges said the small crates provided the animals limited mobility, limited air flow and limited heat.

“They also had animals that were natural prey next to each other, which added stress,” she said, adding turtles were in plastic containers with no air holes.

The veterinarian said beddings were soaked with urine and feces littered the cages.

“It took gentlemen four hours to clean out the crates, set them to dry and they still didn’t smell (good),” she said. “We had to trash them.”

“I don’t know how long they could have stayed in that condition before deterioration,” she said of the cramped housing.

Gleason said since the seizure, Ms. Hedges’ office has played an integral part in feeding the big cats and housing the other animals. The veterinarian described the dramatic change she’s observed with the iguanas’ color and mobility since they have been in her clinic.

“They actually started reaching up toward the light for the feeding,” she said.

The veterinarian also gave a good report on the parrots. She said after her staff put them in clean cages, “it wasn’t long until they were cleaning and preening and eating and started laying eggs.”

She noted several of the animals were ill and suffering with issues when seized. The hooves on the horses, for instance, were overgrown and the female horse also suffered with a chronic sinus infection. Other than those problems, the horses appeared to be in good shape, Dr. Hedges said.

She also reported that the birds were missing many feathers and weren’t able to perch.

All the fowl, which included chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks had to be euthanized based on the Texas Animal Health Commission laws in case they had Avian flu. The domestic cats were also euthanized due to an upper respiratory infection that spreads from cat to cat.

“They could not get into this clinic or any clinic,” Ms. Hedges said of the domestic cats. “The clinic would’ve had to shut down.

“They all had runny eyes … runny noses,” she said. “One sneezed mucus on my leg — they were sick.”

She noted the coatimundi is on the endangered species list in Texas, therefore, Ms. Hoffman and Lulling weren’t supposed to possess it without a permit.

In answering Finstrom’s questions, Cox confirmed that a crew was on the property before the seizure to assemble cages and that Ms. Hoffman and Lulling did present written plans to have an educational center.

Ms. Hoffman said she made a mistake bringing her animals to Marion County.

“It seems that I made a mistake in my attempt to move to a county that already has bears registered,” she blurted out while not under oath.

“And. I thought that I had done everything properly. I made a mistake and did it improperly. I came here in the worst of conditions and I’m being severely punished for (making) human mistakes. This seems rather unfair.”

http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/news/content/news/stories/stories/2009/020510_web_pets.html

UPDATE: Owner of exotic animals behind bars

UPDATE: Owner of exotic animals behind bars

Posted: Jan 28, 2010 7:33 PM EST
Updated: Jan 29, 2010 1:11 PM EST
By Courtney Lane
Posted by Ellen Krafve

MARION COUNTY, TX (KLTV) – The owner of those exotic animals seized in Marion County is now behind bars herself. Barbara Hoffman is charged with numerous counts of animal cruelty.

In the meantime, the nearly 100 animals seized from her property Wednesday are recovering in county clinics.

“All the big cats are in climate controlled, secured area,” said Caroline Wedding, with the Marion County Humane Society. “This cold weather coming in this weekend, they’re going to be happy babies…we want their lives to be heaven.”

To free them from the filth, Marion County investigators had to cut through the rusted, corroded locks.

“That’s just proof that these animals have been left out in the weather forever…their feet are sore due to the fact that they’re always on their wet floors, due to standing in their own urine,” said Larry Nance, with the Marion County D.A.’s Office.

Now, their cages are clean. Though a temporary home, Marion County says their behavior is improving instantly.

“They’re all just what I call purring…they just lay around and push their feet against you [in a] real playful mood,” said Nance.

Ironically, their owner, Hoffman, is now also behind bars and under a suicide watch. She used to be an animal trainer with her late husband, but records uncover a trail of trouble since his death.

Before moving to Marion County, Hoffman was kicked out of Edinburg, Texas for the same thing: not registering the wild animals. Investigators say she was also denied a USDA license and began hoarding.

“When you’ve got 50 small animals in a camper trailer that smells like 18 years of rotting urine, you’re not taking care of your animals,” said William Gleason, the Marion County District Attorney.

For some of those smaller, domestic cats, it is already too late. Plagued with diseases, some are being euthanized. But, for most, like Hoffman’s prized monkey, it is a fresh start, and, hopefully, a happy ending.

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11898358#

Update: Wild animals rescued from poor living conditions

Update: Wild animals rescued from poor living conditions

Posted: Jan 27, 2010 8:02 PM EST
Updated: Jan 28, 2010 9:17 AM EST
By Courtney Lane
Posted by Ellen Krafve

Note:  Disturbing Video Available At: http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11891664#

MARION COUNTY, TX (KLTV) – Tuesday, we told you about wild animals discovered in Marion County living in horrific conditions. The District Attorney’s Office served Barbara Hoffman with a search and seizure warrant Wednesday and we were right there alongside them.

We arrived in Chopper 7 at the area where all the animals were being kept in filthy, cramped conditions. Once we landed, we searched the perimeter with the Marion County D.A.’s office, discovering foul, filthy conditions.

“I’m an ex-circus superstar,” said Hoffman. “This is what we look like when we’re not performing.”

In the trailer were huge snakes, birds without wings, domestic cats caged and even a wallaby. The stench was so strong, you could hardly breathe.

“If you haven’t got a strong stomach you’ll probably lose it,” said Larry Nance. “I mean, the ammonia is so strong it just burns your nose when you walk in. The filth and the smell and then you look at these cats in these cages. They’re not let out to use the restroom at any time.”

But Barbara Hoffman claims she has raised and loved them.

“I’m not sure I really want to live anymore because this is ruining my life, my career,” said Hoffman.

Her last circus show she says was last year.

“What were y’all doing here?” I asked her.

“Trying to get the sanctuary set up so the children could come out or I could go to the school system,” said Hoffman.

“A true case of what we call a hoarder…and with no income coming in I mean I don’t know how she’s doing it,” said Nance.

“She didn’t have a USDA license,” said William Gleason. “She’s essentially stranded in Texas ’cause she can’t cross state lines with the animals.”

But, now all of these animals are getting a new life, saved from the sickness they’re used to living in.

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11891664#

Marion County officials, USDA investigate wild cats at residence

Marion County officials, USDA investigate wild cats at residence

By Robin Y. Richardson, News Messenger
Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Marion County officials called in the United States Department of Agriculture Monday to investigate the home of Barbara Hoffman and Fred Lulling, who are illegally harboring large circus cats.

“There are 10 big cats — six tigers, one cougar, two black panthers and one spotted leopard,” said Bill Gleason, Marion County’s district attorney, adding the tigers weigh about 700 pounds.

“The veterinarian from the Department of Agriculture went and looked at them,” Gleason said.

The cats, which were all living in cages inside of an RV mobile home at 950 Lewis Chapel Road in Jefferson, belong to Ms. Hoffman. She told officials she has been in the circus business for 25 years. She showed them a folder of flyers about her line of work.

“We think she was in Edingburg, Texas, and brought them up here,” Gleason said. However, “she’s supposed to have a permit for every wild animal.”

Gleason said under the law, Ms. Hoffman can be cited for a Class C misdemeanor for not following regulations and sued by Marion County for fines up to $2,000 per day per animal.

Gleason said county officials have been watching the home since 9 p.m. Sunday night after being tipped off.

“We kept someone there to make sure she didn’t run off,” he said.

Caroline Wedding, president of the Humane Society of Marion County, was also called to the scene to investigate the welfare of additional animals found on the property.

“There were eight horses, Shetland ponies, goats, dogs, cats, rabbits, mice…,” said Ms. Wedding, adding they were shut up in the large semi-trailer. “She had these animals, but just wasn’t taking proper care of them.

“She has several kinds of ducks, a turkey and lots of chickens,” Ms. Wedding added. “Every time we’d open up a door, there would be something else.”

“I’m trying to find a place (to take the animals) because we’re going to probably try to seize all animals,” she said.

“There was no compliance we could find with any state or local laws,” Ms. Wedding added.

Ms. Wedding said the RV trailer the animals were living in is what Ms. Hoffman would live in if she was traveling to do a circus.

Ms. Wedding said she does not know how long Ms. Hoffman has been residing in Marion County with her animals, but she does know she purchased the 10 acres of land in August.

The cages Ms. Hoffman kept the wild cats in were not suitable for them to live in.

“They are 4×8 typical circus cages,” Ms. Wedding said. “They are fine for transporting, but not living in.”

Ms. Wedding said the owners were busy Monday setting up an enclosure for the cats, however, the structure still does not meet state regulations or comply with the county’s ordinances.

“It’s nothing permanent or anything that will secure them long-term,” she said. “We’re moving towards getting these cats away from her. She had no license to have them.”

Besides inadequate living conditions and no permit, Ms. Wedding said the animals were in questionable health.

“She could not produce any documentation on rabies vaccinations or health certificates,” she said. “Since she’s been up here, she’s had her lion die.”

The Humane Society president suspects Ms. Hoffman has lived and traveled several places with her animals.

“Some of her vehicles have Florida tags; some have Minnesota tags,” she said. “She admits to being in South Texas.”

Ms. Wedding said oftentimes people in the circus business look for places to travel where there think lack ordinances. She said Ms. Hoffman should have contacted the sheriff’s office when she moved to Marion County to notify them of her animals.

“When you cross the state line with these animals, it is a problem,” Ms. Wedding said. “She is supposed to contact the sheriff’s office, advise them what she’s bringing in and inform them she has a structure.”

Ms. Wedding said she finds it hard to believe that a person who has been in the circus business for 25 years has not abided by the guidelines.

After the USDA official reviews the situation, Ms. Wedding said Marion County officials will take the necessary steps, which may end up seizing all of the animals.

“There are circumstances there that indicate this will be a seizure,” Ms. Wedding said.

They will have to take the large cats to either a zoo or another place that accepts large cats.

“USDA is just involved with the big cats and everything else will be the responsibility of the Humane Society,” Ms. Wedding said.

http://www.marshallnewsmessenger.com/news/content/news/stories/stories/2009/012610_WEB_large_cats.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=7