[Havoc]

Let me whip out a post I wrote a few minutes ago on a similar subject. This is about the Haley Hildebrand case. For those who don't know what it was about, Haley Hildebrand posed with a Siberian Tiger at one of these 'backyard zoo's' for her graduation party. The tiger attacked and killed her, and the Hildebrands have been chasing after a statewide ban eversince.

On the matter of the Hildebrand case, I've been following that incident in the news and I don't want to play Devil's Advocate here, but it's also in my opinion that the way the tiger was handled was far from profesional and lacked any kind of savety. I don't mind photoshoots, but for heavens sake if you're going to do that then at least know what you're doing. This guy merely thought it was save just because 'it went without error the first hundred times'. Thats assuming, and assuming is something you should NEVER EVER do around big cats, especialy when in direct contact with them.
Secondly, reports indicate the man was holding the tiger on nothing more but a simple leash, which forms no protection what so ever. The tiger is still able to move and lunge at people when he so desires.
After concidering all this, I do say that it was the 'trainer' being careless. Does that mean he should have his animals taken away? No ofcourse not. But he should at least be told very firmly that he shouldn't be acting as if he's an experienced trainer if he doesn't know what he's doing. Maybe simply don't allow direct contact anymore at his place at all.

In turn, do the Hildebrands have any basis for a statewide ban on big cat contact? No, not realy. While I do support a lot more control over these kind of 'back yard zoo's', simply because people running them often have the illusion that they are an expert in what they do, I'm not supporting the idea of banning them all together as do I don't like the Hildebrands motives for trying to do so.
Only a 3 year old and mentaly unstable people don't know that a tiger is a dangrous animal that could kill you. If I would want my picture taken and I see the trainer sitting there with a huge tiger that I don't know, holding him on nothing more then a leash, then I'm going to pass on that because I'm not trusting a man who I see doesn't know how to handle a huge Siberian Tiger.
But that's from an experienced person's point of view. From a normal view, you'd expect a trainer to know what he's doing so if he comes walking around with a tiger on a leash and says it's okay, who are you to doubt him?

And how this kind of savety regulation is going to get animals killed is beyond me. It might if they force owners to get rid of their animals. But otherwise it will only save more animals lifes because not as many have to be put down after an attack of any kind.
Anyone having a backyard zoo, just one tiger as a pet, or an official sanctuary should be checked up on regularly and made sure that savety is the top priority. Anyone not being able to see the logic in that, or anyone failing to understand why these savety measures are needed, do not deserve to keep big cats, period.