La. truck stop loses bid to keep Tony the Tiger as Supreme Court rejects case

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Updated Oct 17, 2013
Tony the Tiger, in his cage at the Tiger Truck Stop in Gross Tete, La. | Photo from FoxNews.com.Tony the Tiger, in his cage at the Tiger Truck Stop in Gross Tete, La. | Photo from FoxNews.com.

The long legal saga of a Louisiana truck stop owner’s attempt to keep a Siberian Bengal tiger in a cage at his truck stop may have come to an end this month, as the state’s Supreme Court has denied a petition to hear Tiger Truck Stop owner Michael Sandlin’s case to keep the animal.

The court’s Oct. 4 decision essentially upholds lower court rulings against Sandlin’s ability to keep the tiger.

Rhetoric on Tony the Truck Stop Tiger boils over into truck stop villification 

The Gross Tete, La., truck stop has displayed Tony on its grounds since 2000. In 2011, however, the Animal Legal Defense Fund sued the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries for what it said was an unlawful issuance of a permit to allow Sandlin to keep and exhibit the tiger. 

The ALDF also said it was cruel of the truck stop to keep the tiger alone in what it deemed to be a cage too small for the animal. In early 2012, a state court judge ruled in the group’s favor and told the state’s wildlife department to stop issuing new permits that allowed the truck stop to keep Tony. 

An appeal from Sandlin was heard in February, and the court ruled in April the tiger was not allowed to stay at the truck stop. 

Here are some links to previous OD coverage on the Tony the Tiger saga: