A BREEDING GROUND FOR TROUBLE
Officials from an animal sanctuary in Colorado fear that animals like those featured in the hit Netflix documentary series Tiger King may be at risk as America’s private zoos face greater scrutiny.
The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado is now home to 39 tigers rescued from the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma where much of the series took place.
Becca Miceli, chief animal welfare officer at the sanctuary, worries the documentary’s spotlight on tiger exploitation could cause a major displacement of large game animals currently living in private zoos or with people who consider the animals personal pets.
“With those zoos, their funding is going to change because people aren’t going,” she told CNN.
If the zoos do not have enough money to feed and care for their animals, Ms Miceli thinks they will look to get rid of them.
“Sadly, I do think that we’re going to get a high influx of phone calls,” she said. “The concern would be that there’s going to be a huge surge of animals in need. You’re talking hundreds and hundreds of animals.”
Ms Miceli said the rescued tigers, who had been confined to small cages and fed roadkill in Oklahoma, were enjoying their new life in Colorado. “The biggest takeaway that we hope people get from the documentary is that they see past the characters and see what the real problem is,” she said.
“These animals have no voice. They are constantly exploited, constantly bred. They don’t get a choice.”
The World Wildlife Foundation estimates there are 5000 tigers in the US, most of them in private residences.