For the second time this year a district court judge in Baton Rouge has put the kabosh on Tiger Truck Stop owner Michael Sandlin's bid to keep a 550-pound Bengal-Siberian tiger in captivity as a roadside attraction at his Grosse Tete business skirting Interstate 10.
Michael Sandlin, owner of the Tiger Truck
Stop in Grosse Tete, has once again lost
his bid to keep Tony as a roadside attraction
at his I-10 business.
For the second time this year a district court judge in Baton Rouge has put the kabosh on Tiger Truck Stop owner Michael Sandlin's bid to keep a 550-pound Bengal-Siberian tiger in captivity as a roadside attraction at his Grosse Tete business skirting Interstate 10.
On Wednesday, according to The Advocate, Judge Mike Caldwell ruled that the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries improperly exempted Sandlin from state-mandated permit requirements for big cats. It is the same ruling Caldwell issued in May - a ruling that was overturned by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal because Sandlin was not permitted to present his case for keeping the cat at the spring hearing.
The court action stems from a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Animal Legal Defense Fund against LDWF in a bid to get "Tony" freed from the truck stop and transferred to a more appropriate setting.
"We are thrilled that the court made the right decision," says ALDF Executive Director Stephen Wells in an email. "We will continue to do everything we can to make sure Tony's next home is a reputable, accredited sanctuary that can give Tony the life he deserves."
Sandlin has once again vowed to appeal. Read more here.