TTS Fact Sheet

Link to online document: http://www.911animalabuse.com/images/USDAViolations/2008Tiger_Truck_Stop_Factsheet.pdf

Other PETA reference found with respect to Tony from November 25, 2008: http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/11/activists_knock.php and the updated response from PETA regarding Tony: https://freetonythetiger.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/roar-for-%e2%99%a5tony%e2%99%a5-peta-response-regarding-tony-7-14-2010/

Tiger Truck Stop has failed to meet minimal federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibition as established in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited the truck stop for unsanitary feeding practices, mishandling tigers, failure to provide veterinary care, failure to provide shelter from inclement weather, failure to provide clean drinking water, and repeatedly failing to have knowledgeable employees caring for the tigers. A tiger cub died when he was taken to a veterinarian for declawing. Tiger Truck Stop has bred and sold tiger cubs to tourists and through raffles. Tigers are kept in concrete cages as a novelty display to amuse customers. Contact PETA for documentation.

July 2, 2007:

The USDA cited Tiger Truck Stop for failure to clean cages as often as necessary to maintain adequate sanitation.

July 26, 2006:

The USDA cited Tiger Truck Stop for failure to maintain structurally sound cages for the tigers.

April 25, 2003:

A USDA order assessed Tiger Truck Stop a $2,500 fine and limited the facility to possessing or exhibiting no more than two exotic cats because of repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

November 12, 2002:

The USDA cited Tiger Truck Stop for failure to correct a previously identified noncompliance of not utilizing a sufficient number of adequately trained employees.

August 15, 2002:

The USDA cited Tiger Truck Stop for failure to correct previously identified noncompliances of not utilizing a sufficient number of adequately trained employees to care for the animals (the only caretaker’s hours had been cut and he had not received training as mandated by previous reports) and failure to provide food free of contamination and of sufficient nutritive quality. Tiger Truck Stop was also cited for improper food storage.

May 9, 2002:

The USDA cited Tiger Truck Stop for failure to correct previous noncompliances of not maintaining structurally sound facilities, which “indicate an ongoing lack of maintenance plan,” and failure to utilize a sufficient number of adequately trained employees, which was demonstrated by a lack of veterinary care. There was only one employee assigned to care for five large cats in addition to other tasks. Tiger Truck Stop was also cited for failure to provide veterinary care to a female tiger who appeared to have “arthritis or some form of posterior paralysis” and exhibited “severe atrophy of quadriceps muscles,” as well as failure to provide food of sufficient nutritive quality and prepared in a manner to prevent contamination.

October 9, 2001:

The USDA cited Tiger Truck Stop for failure to correct a previously identified noncompliance of mishandling tigers. The inspector wrote, “[The] [c]aretaker informed me [that the two tiger cubs] were removed … a week ago … for declawing. The first evening at the veterinarian’s, the male cub died.” Tiger Truck Stop was cited for failure to maintain facilities. The inspector wrote, “There has been no progress in repairing and/or repainting metal bars. This total neglect is resulting in rapid deterioration of [the] structural soundness of [the] entire facility and may result in future escapes.” The USDA also cited Tiger Truck Stop for failure to have a sufficient number of adequately trained employees. The inspector wrote, “Over the past several inspections, I have dealt with different employees whose primary function was not animal care. [The] [m]anagement of this facility does not seem to place great store [in] or adequately reward caretakers. … [J]udg[ing] by the state of disrepair of the facility, more outside help … is required. … There is also some question as to the expertise of the employee caring for the cubs, [one of whom] died.”

July 24, 2001:

The USDA cited Tiger Truck Stop for failure to have a program of veterinary care, for mishandling animals, for failure to maintain cages, and for improper food storage. The inspector wrote, “Two 3-week-old cubs [are] being bottle raised in [the] truck stop office. They are loose in [the] manager’s office and are being shown to customers. For their own safety and health, these cubs must be moved to a designated area which is in compliance and off limits to customers. They must also be contained to prevent [their] being walked on or otherwise injured. … By virtue of being loose, they have extreme potential of ingesting harmful agents.”

August 23, 1999:

The USDA cited Tiger Truck Stop for unsanitary feeding practices, failure to clean water receptacles with algae growth, and poor housekeeping.

November 5, 1997:

The USDA cited Tiger Truck Stop for failure to provide shelter from inclement weather.

September 12, 1997:

According to The Baton Rouge Advocate, Tiger Truck Stop sold two tiger cubs for $2,500 to a couple passing through on a camping trip. One of the cubs suffered from fluid collection around the joints in her front legs, a condition linked to living on concrete.

August 9, 1996:

According to The Baton Rouge Advocate, hazardous materials workers from several agencies, wearing protective gear, worked to control a leak of a hazardous and corrosive chemical called formic acid from a box trailer parked at the Tiger Truck Stop.

December 14, 1993:

According to The New Orleans Times-Picayune, Tiger Truck Stop was evacuated for five hours after a tanker truck ruptured, spilling 400 gallons of highly flammable aviation fuel at the truck stop.

September 14, 1993:

According to The Baton Rouge Advocate, Tiger Truck Stop, another truck stop, and 60 homes were evacuated after a driver reported that his trailer was smoking. The trailer was packed with drums of highly toxic sodium cyanide.

November 6, 1989:

According to the Houston Chronicle, Tiger Truck Stop was raffling off an 11-month-old, 350-pound Bengal tiger named Gloria who was living in a 16’x7’x7′ cage attached to a flatbed trailer. The entry forms, which released Tiger Truck Stop from liability, informed potential winners that they could “donate [her] to a zoo, sell [her], or give [her] to a friend” in the event that the winner did not want to keep the cub.