Tiger's Owner Calls Shooting 'Murder'

Tiger's Owner Calls Shooting 'Murder'

You all know I'm an animal lover. But...

1. Tigers are wild animals. They are meant to be in wild. They are not meant to be kept in a maze of cages in Florida.
   
2. I really question menageries kept by private citizens. It's hard to tell just how they're being kept, what sort of safeguards there are, etc. We have a local lion that is someone's 'pet'. Wild animals are not pets. Big cats are in no way domesticated.
   
3. This guy has already been involved in the mauling (by another tiger) of a visitor already.
   
4. No, man, it's not necessarily all about you. Most people encountering a lose tiger who happened to have a rifle would probably shoot. It would be better if the tiger could be sedated, but it had been running around for more than a day in a residential area. Even if someone opened the gate, why on earth would security be so lax that they could?
   
5. Me-thinks playing Tarzan went to the brain. Granted, I don't know the man, I only know what I've read. But based on that, it's an opinion.
   
6. Why would you de-claw a tiger? To make it 'safe'? What next, pull a Yukon Cornelius and tap it's teeth out? Sheesh. So it can't live in the wild. It doesn't sound like it has a true habitat (running free within a preserve, etc. What tiger wouldn't walk out, given the opportunity?
   
7. Anytime a person adopts an animal, he or she is ultimately responsible for the animal's behaviour. If your dog bites someone, you're liable. If your dog bites many people, you're harbouring a dangerous animal and need to find an alternative so that it doesn't encounter strangers or euthanise the animal as humanely as possible. The attitude of 'Bobo was a helpless animal who wouldn't hurt anybody' reminds me of people I've known who wouldn't put a leash on their dog because they thought it was cruel, then got upset when the dog either was hit by a car or injured someone else. We used to have a German Shepherd in our neighbourhood (named, aptly enough Doofus) who would run and jump up on you. For kids and elderly, it was dangerous. For those who may have been bitten by dogs or were afraid of dogs, it would be terrifying. For one friend, it was annoying, and he blocked her from putting muddy feet on him by putting his knee between his chest and hers and the owner ran up said, 'Don't hurt her!' like he was flaying the dog. I once nearly had to kill a Jack Russell who ran up and attacked one of my dogs (and me) and had it in my hands ready to dash its brains out when the guy finally came out and intervened, and never once apologised for the bites. I never thought I would kill an animal, but it was tenaciously on me, and I didn't see a choice at that point.
   
   Granted, sometimes they slip out of that safety, and I've chased my fair share of loose animals. But every responsible pet owner knows that losing a pet is a real, viable possibility for a moment's distraction, and does what can be done to prevent it, out of love for the animal.
   
8. I'm curious who pays for a round-the-clock chase of a tiger. The public? The pet owner? I'm sorry, but if you're going to keep them, you should pay for the overtime and expenses of rounding up your 'pet'.