Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, La

Please help Tony the tiger. Boycott Sandlin's truck stop. I, for one, am on the side of the decent, thoughtful and caring people who want to remove the tiger from Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, La. I don't care if "Tony" is a "pet". The owner (Mr. Sandlin) of Truck Stop argues these points in favor of keeping his pet tiger in a cage to enhance business:

1. "The tiger enhances business" - yes but the tiger wouldn't enhance business if people didn't come to your business to eat and that might be achievable if the people who cared about animals made a lawful protest on public property outside your place. If I were there, I would. And in thinking as he does, Mr Sandlin gives us a clue as to what is his true love. It is not Tony that is for sure, it is money. We normally keep companion cats because we like indeed love and care for them (and they for us, in their way). But how can this be the case with Tony? This tiger is forced to breathe diesel fumes day in and day out. These fumes contain very small particles. A particle is called PM10. They are less than 10 micrometers in diameter. This allows them to penetrate deep into the lung, where they can aggravate respiratory disease. Tony is very close to a ton of PM10 and Mr Sandlin doesn't care. He thinks he is caring for Tony. He is deluded.
2. "Tony is my pet" - yes but the tiger doesn't know that and the better phrase is "companion animal" and in any case if you cared about "your pet" you would not keep him locked up in a cage all the time. I can only presume (I actually know, as do us all) that you care more for financial profit. Profit is always the overriding reason why the tiger suffers and is becoming extinct in the wild in this world. Tony's owner is fooling himself if he thinks he is treating his Tony well.
3. Sandlin says it is an infringement of his rights to remove Tony to a reserve. We share the planet with other animals Mr Sandlin and in a better world they have rights too. At a basic level Tony has the right to live as near a natural life as possible. He cannot be returned to the wild as he never was in the wild, as I understand it, but he can have more space and tigers need plenty of space. The Amur tiger, for instance, requires up to 40 square kilometers of territory to be able to feel natural in. I believe your cage is about 20 meters square. That .000025% of the desired amount of space. Mr Sandlin, you have no idea what is going through the mind of this tiger but it is probably a kind of slow torture.
4. Mr. Sandlin makes other unsupportable arguments.

The best we can do is this. To make the point to Mr Sandlin that it is not commercially profitable to keep a tiger outside his establishment and for that matter it is also bad for business to keep a stuffed one inside as well. The video below shows the 4 year old stuffed white tiger that apparently died of unknown causes. Far for me to suggest that Mr Sandlin killed the tiger so he could have one inside the restaurant as well as outside!!



This is a comment made in relation to the above video on YouTube showing Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, La:

"and YES i have visited tony 4 times and i know that he gest the right amount of treatment medical , food, and playtime! you shouldve seen how he was when he was being fed the loudest purr i have ever heard! doesnt a purr mean they are content? seriously people wake up! seriously ppl if you feel guilty about being born privliged then maybe you should start your charity/activism at home and free your cat(s) LOL in the mean time leave the rest of us alone! tony included!!"

This is what we are up against. This person is very short sighted and I don't mean in respect of his eyes. He makes a bizarre statement (I guess intended to be an insult) by claiming that people who care about the welfare of animals are "born privileged". Perhaps he is saying that people who are rich can afford to have animal rights and those who are poor have to use whatever means possible to make money. That might carry some merit but it does not support Mr Sandlin's cause because he is not poor, he is probably quite wealthy. In short in relation to most of the world's peoples he is very, very privileged. And purring does not necessarily signify contentment. Cats sometimes purr when frightened. See cats purr. The argument about Tony receiving medical treatment is valid (if true) but is completely overridden by the wholly inappropriate conditions under which he is kept. Tony probably needs lots of medical treatment as a result!

Mr Sandlin of Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, La., is driven by the god money, play against him on that field of play and you will eventually win. Boycott his damned business...........Here is a video of a hearing. The people presiding look as if they have made up their minds and are disinterested:



Here is on of many comments from BanWolfHunting on the video:

Sky Williamson is my new hero. And what a pathetic bunch that committee was, to do nothing. They should be voted out of office.
I just wish you could have videoed the tiger and his crummy little cage up close, to better show people how disgraceful and shameful keeping him captive is.
What a sad, pathetic place this truckstop must be. I just may have to stop by there and film it myself and help these white trash truckstop owners lose their "family" to a better place like BCR.

Here is another video at another hearing:



And here is an example of the comments generated (this is just one):

djbethell Shame on these blind people. That poor, poor animal. How slow they are in seeing what is right in front of them. It's times like these that I despair at the stupidity and unconcious actions of some people. Keep fighting the good fight. Truth will out.

Update 14th April 2009: The local Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso Jr, has, I understand, met with Mr Sandlin to discuss improvements to the tiger's living quarters. Well, that is something and I hope it results in action. But it is no where near enough. However Mr Ourso deserves a medal as he was going against the wishes of his council in trying to improve the tiger's living conditions.

Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, La to Wild Cat Species