BATON ROUGE, La. — This week the State of Louisiana Court of Appeal will hear arguments in the case of the Tiger Truck Stop in Baton Rouge.
Owner Michael Sandlin is fighting to keep a live Bengal tiger named Tony in a cage at the truck stop.
The animal legal defense fund won a ruling against the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for unlawfully issuing Sandlin a permit to keep the tiger.
In 2011, Judge Michael Caldwell ordered wildlife and fisheries to revoke the permit.
The court will take up Sandlin’s appeal on Tuesday.
We’ve been getting great support from our friends on Twitter for Tony’s Twitterstorm, a.k.a. ROAR-A-THON, scheduled for February 3rd @ 5pmEST; lots of tweets networking the information and people asking about Tony.
We’ll be raising awareness and support for Tony by letting people know he’s still at the truck, the next court date, his petition etc. and for captive tigers and big cats in the U.S. by networking information about The Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act.
We’ll be trending the hashtag #FreeTonyTiger.
Here are some tips about Sunday’s event from our friend @ARCrusade:
Don’t tweet too much the day of (before) the event.
Very few countdowns only.
Tweet as fast as possible.
We must tweet fast for an hour straight.
Copy+Paste tweets are more efficient than RTs (retweets) and are fast.
Always include hashtag #FreeTonyTiger in every tweet.
Some tweets we’ll be using you can copy but feel free to compose your own:
We Love Tony! @TonyTiger2000 || #FreeTonyTiger
Tony deserves a proper home @ a reputable big cat sanctuary! #FreeTonyTiger
Let Tony @TonyTiger2000 Hear Our ROARS! #FreeTonyTiger
ROAR FOR TONY!! Join Our Twitter Storm 4 @TonyTiger2000 Going on NOW!! Help Us Trend ►► #FreeTonyTiger ◄◄
Tiger kept as a roadside attraction @ truck stop?? http://ow.ly/h80QR #FreeTonyTiger
Plz Sign Petition: LDWF: Ensure Tony The Tiger Is Released To A Reputable Sanctuary http://ow.ly/h818P || #FreeTonyTiger
Nominate @TonyTiger2000 4 a shorty award: http://ow.ly/h8APw Help Raise Awareness 4 Captive Tigers || #FreeTonyTiger
@ALDF Back in court 4 @TonyTiger2000 on Feb. 19th! http://ow.ly/h8B91 || #FreeTonyTiger
Join us on SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3 @ 5pmEST when we hold a “Twitter Storm” for Tony to raise awareness and support for him and the 5,000 plus captive tigers in the United States. We’ll be tweeting about Tony, his petition and how to help captive tigers while adding the hashtag #FreeTonyTiger to our tweets.
Help captive U.S. tigers and big cats by taking action and supporting The Big Cats & Public Safety Protection Act! ( HR 4122 and S 3547 ) This bill would prohibit private possession of big cats except at highly-qualified facilities like accredited zoos where they can be properly cared for and safely managed.
Tigers don’t belong in truck stops! On Tuesday, February 19, 2013 the courts will hear ALDF’s oral arguments in the appeal to free Tony. Keep Tony in your thoughts!
From the stench of fuel to the drone of diesel engines and the isolation of his roadside prison, Tony, a 12 year-old Siberian-Bengal tiger, has endured more than a decade of misery at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, Louisiana. That is why the Animal Legal Defense Fund has taken to the Louisiana courts to free Tony the Tiger from this truck stop nightmare. We won our lawsuit to prevent Tony’s “owner” Michael Sandlin from renewing his permit, but Sandlin appealed, and we are waiting for the Louisiana Court of Appeal to hear the case. Sandlin subsequently filed his own lawsuit to overturn the state’s ban on big cat ownership. ALDF sought to have the case dismissed and is waiting for the trial court to decide if the suit will move forward.
Sandlin has exploited tigers for over 20 years: buying, breeding, selling, and exhibiting tigers in poor conditions for his own profit. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited Sandlin’s truck stop in the past for unsanitary feeding practices; mishandling tigers; and failure to provide veterinary care, shelter from inclement weather, clean drinking water, and knowledgeable employees to care for the tigers. In 2003, Sandlin’s animal welfare violations sparked public outcry, and three tigers were removed to a Tennessee sanctuary. The USDA allowed Sandlin to keep one tiger: Tony. He has been alone ever since.
Life at the truck stop is harmful to an animal with such sensitive hearing and acute sense of smell, says veterinarian Jennifer Conrad, who has cared for captive large cats for nearly two decades. After visiting Tony, she declared he is “in poor condition and needs intervention on his behalf.” In addition to exposure to noise and diesel fumes, Tony is taunted by truck stop visitors. His enclosure lacks adequate enrichment. He has no pool of water to cool off in the blazing heat of the summer. As a result of this stressful confinement, Tony constantly paces in his enclosure, putting him at risk for dangerous and painful veterinary conditions.
His suffering demonstrates the problem of privately-owned tigers, whose numbers exceed that of wild tigers. There are less than 500 Siberian and only 2,500 Bengal tigers left in the wild. In their natural habitat, tigers live alone, travel many miles to hunt, and avoid humans.
ALDF Sues to Have Tony Freed
In 2010, ALDF sued the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) for unlawfully issuing Sandlin a permit to keep and exhibit Tony. ALDF was joined by several Louisiana residents as co-plaintiffs, including Warren Triche, the state representative who authored the Louisiana state law banning private ownership of tigers. In November 2011, Judge Michael Caldwell ordered LDWF to revoke Sandlin’s permit and prohibited the agency from issuing future permits. Sandlin appealed this decision to the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the First Circuit. We have briefed the case and are awaiting an oral argument date. Once the court hears our arguments, we will await a final decision. Meanwhile, Sandlin continues to exhibit Tony without a permit.
LDWF publicly stated it intends to enforce Louisiana law when litigation has concluded—although they could seize Tony now, at their discretion. State law bars Sandlin from owning and exhibiting a tiger because he did not legally own Tony when Louisiana’s big cat ban went into effect, and because Sandlin does not live on the premises where Tony is held captive. After all, who would want to live in a truck stop? Not Sandlin… and definitely not Tony.
ALDF Intervenes to Defend Big Cat Law
After losing his permit, Sandlin filed his own lawsuit against the State of Louisiana, the LDWF, and Iberville Parish to overturn the state ban on private possession of big cats. This suit flies in the face of national sentiment, public safety, and animal welfare concerns. After the massacre of 48 exotic animals in Ohio in 2011, state and federal bills (like HR 4122) are being considered to prohibit ownership of big cats. Although ALDF was not named as a defendant in Sandlin’s suit, we successfully petitioned the court to allow us to intervene in the case to support Louisiana’s right to safeguard public safety and the welfare of animals like Tony. LDWF and ALDF each filed exceptions to Sandlin’s case, seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed, and a decision is expected soon.
Next Steps: We Wait While Tony Paces
The world waits with bated breath for the results of ALDF’s suit and of Sandlin’s appeal. Meanwhile Tony remains trapped at the truck stop. ALDF’s legal battle for Tony has drawn support from high profile advocates like Leonardo DiCaprio and True Blood’sKristin Bauer van Straten and has galvanized activists around the world. The law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell, & Berkowitz, P.C. is providing pro bono assistance.
We are currently waiting for the Louisiana Court of Appeal to hear our case. We are also waiting for the trial court to decide if Sandlin’s suit will move forward. Tony’s fate is tied up in the courts, but ALDF is keeping the pressure on.
We will post updates on Tony’s case as they become available.
Special Thanks to Ian Somerhalder and The ISF (Ian Somerhalder Foundation) Family for their great support of Tony’s petition today. Ian tweeted the link for Tony’s petition and his wonderful friends responded with resounding ROARS!
Please also visit Ian’s ISF website http://www.isfoundation.com to learn more about his organization. ISF’s Mission: “aims to empower, educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures.”
No updates as to the August 6, 2012 hearing but will post when available.
Remaining positive for Tony and ROARING Our Way To 20K!
As we still await word on the August 6, 2012 hearing, let’s continue to keep Tony’s story active by supporting his change.org petition. We’re only 100 signatures away from 18,000– a true indication of the concern and love people have worldwide for Tony.
Petitions are an effective platform to gain support and let the public know, despite two rulings in Tony’s favor, he remains at the truck stop. Read more about Tony’s case from The Animal Legal Defense Fund: Making Sense of the Current Status of the Tony the Tiger Cases
Thanks again to ALL of Tony’s friends for your support and dedication to him.
Please also take a moment to help big cats in the United States by asking your Congress Member to support H.R.4122 – The Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act. This bill would prohibit private possession of big cats except at highly-qualified facilities like accredited zoos where they can be properly cared for and safely managed.
Take Action At These Links:
Enter your zip code at Big Cat Rescue – Tampa FL’s Action Alert for a fast easy way to voice your support of this bill and ask your congressperson to co-sponsor it:
Re-posting this article that mentions Tony. For the article concerning Mr. DiCaprio’s support for Tony see: http://aldf.org/article.php?id=1695
Published: Aug. 27, 2012 at 5:24 PM
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 27 (UPI) — Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy and Tobey Maguire are working to produce an animal-trafficking film like the U.S. crime drama “Traffic,” a trade daily reported.
The unnamed Warner Bros. Pictures film would look at animal trafficking from a number of perspectives, similar to 2000’s “Traffic,” directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan, The Hollywood Reporter said.
“Traffic,” adapted from the British TV series “Traffik,” explores the illegal-drug trade from the perspective of a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker, with their stories edited together.
In this case, the story would look at trafficking from different angles including those of the ground war on poachers in the African savannah and how animal material ends up in Paris fashion houses, the newspaper said.
The trio are looking for a screenplay writer, the Reporter said.
English actor Hardy — who played arch-villain Bane in Christopher Nolan‘s recent Batman film “The Dark Knight Rises” — came up with the new film’s idea, the Reporter said.
He was inspired by friends who are former Special Forces operatives and later became anti-poacher fighters in South Africa and other countries, the newspaper said.
Maguire — best known for his role as Peter Parker aka Spider-Man in Sam Raimi‘s “Spider-Man” film trilogy — has been good friends with DiCaprio since their early-career days, when they found themselves auditioning for roles opposite each other.
The pair made an informal pact to help each other get parts in their movies, TV shows and other projects.
They both star in the 3D romantic drama “The Great Gatsby,” to be released next year.
DiCaprio is longtime animal-rights activist. He donated $1 million to New York’s Wildlife Conservation Society in 2010 and joined a so-far-unsuccessful campaign by California’s Animal Legal Defense Fundto free a tiger named Tony, who has spent a decade in a roadside cage at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, La.
DiCaprio became the spokesman last year for a campaign organized by the International Fund for Animal Welfare to protect elephants.
The world waits with bated breath for the results of ALDF’s suit and of Sandlin’s appeal. Meanwhile Tony remains trapped at the truck stop. ALDF’s legal battle for Tony has drawn support from high profile advocates like 
Free Tony The Tiger 