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Why is this case driving me nuts? That's my new word, by the way...nuts. Anyway, the case is driving me nuts because of all the freaking ups and downs.
First the "downs" - On Monday and Tuesday the pseudo-sanctuary was on 3 local tv news stations (that I know of) and at least 2 Rio Grande news stations. One could see the baby tiger, now called Vi Vi, staged in the transporter with hay and a toy. Then she was shown in the pseudo-sanctuary's vet's office, sedated. The baby tiger was shown receiving a dental exam, body exam, and an x-ray--all with the media cameras rolling. This was pure exploitation. Especially since the tiger should have had a recent health certificate on file with the pseudo-sanctuary as part of the animal transportation process. Sedating a tiger, especially a baby, is risky -- but needless to say the pseudo-sanctuary and its vet had no problem sedating the tiger for the camera. In my opinion, these animal acquisition tv news stories were simply a ploy to get local donors to pony up some cash towards the "care" of the baby tiger. After all, who wouldn't want to donate money for the care of a cute and cuddly baby tiger, hmmmm?
I spoke with two of my contacts with the local tv stations and learned they were not part of the tiger acquisition story. Sadly, there was nothing they could do to stop the stories from airing. One was able to attach a line at the end of the news story that the facility was under investigation by the USDA due to the deaths of a few monkeys.
Another "down" - a recent tour visited the pseudo-sanctuary and confirmed Rumby tiger is gone and I presume she is dead based on the January and February tour reports. According to the tour guide, the empty cage does not house tigers, but rather it is used as a "run-off" cage, where animals can be temporarily moved while their main cage is being cleaned. The pseudo-sanctuary will not even admit Rumby (or Tag for that matter) ever existed. Now she only lives in pictures and my heart. May God Bless Rumby in Heaven with her cagemate, Tag.
Noel, the baby cougar, is still missing.
The tour reported two primates from Lehman College had large bite sores and scratches on their backs. There used to be six primates in the enclosure, but the tour said there were only three primates in the enclosure. The third primate did not appear to have bite soars or scratches. It is unknown whether or not the other three primates were hiding in the enclosed box located at the back of the enclosure or if they too disappeared.
Now the "up" -- earlier this week I heard a rumor that there was a possibility that the pseudo-sanctuary may receive some bears from Indiana. Not knowing whether or not the tip was reliable, I made a life saving call. Long story short, a friend of a friend contacted the group that was hoping to relocate the animals to the pseudo-sanctuary. This group was advised of the pseudo-sanctuary's current financial situation and the concurrent investigations by the Texas AG and USDA/APHIS Offices, and then made a simple request that the group investigate the animals' potential new home before they were relocated. Once the rescue group saw the legal documents on-line, the decision was made not to relocate the bears! Victory dance!!! Bears were saved!! It was a team effort and so a very special thank you goes out to the three ladies that helped saved the bears!
I wish I had more "ups" to report-- now you know why this case is driving me nuts!
