Tony the Tiger, in his cage at the Tiger Truck Stop in Gross Tete, La. Photo from FoxNews.com.The battle over Tony the Tiger — the tiger at the Gross Tete, La., Tiger Truck Stop — is still raging, as a court case dealing with the truck stop’s custody of Tony continued last month.
On Feb. 19, a three-judge panel in Baton Rouge heard Michael Sandlin’s case for keeping Tony, the Bengal-Siberian tiger displayed since 2000 at his business.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund has said it is cruel for Sandlin to keep Tony. Fourteen months ago, a state court judge ruled in ALDF’s favor and prohibited the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries from issuing new permits to allow him to continue to keep Tony.
Sandlin appealed that ruling, stating that the lower court had erred. It is not known when the judges will issue their ruling.
For backstory on Tony, see Todd Dills’ Channel 19 blog entry from Jan. 15, 2012, offering a few links to stories dealing with the ongoing saga.
Also, a Jan. 27, 2012, Channel 19 entry offers one owner-operator’s take on Tony’s situation.
A Channel 19 entry from April 15, 2011, covered the ALDF’s vilification of Tiger Truck Stop, including a video from the organization showing actress Kristin Bauer speaking out against Tony’s truck stop home.
