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American Morning
Keeping Big Cats in Small Spaces
Aired October 20, 2003 - 08:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Since the attack of Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy and the story of a man who was bitten by the tiger he kept in a New York City apartment, we have learned that America has a bit of a fascination with keeping big cats in some small spaces.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER (voice-over): Spike is a 350 pound Siberian tiger and she lives in Larry Wallach's (ph) backyard.
LARRY WALLACH, TIGER OWNER: There's something very special about a relationship between a person and the wild.
HEMMER: To find them, we did not travel far. Larry and Spike are only 25 miles from New York City. It's all legal. Larry has a license. But animal advocates say this is no place for a cat like Spike.
WAYNE PACELLE, HUMANE SOCIETY: It's a miserable, pitiful existence and it's a sad fate for one of the most majestic, remarkable animals that graces this planet's face.
HEMMER (on camera): The Humane Society estimates as many as 15,000 big cats are in private hands in the U.S., big cats like lions and tigers. Activists say the problem is that the laws are too loose and the access is easy and cheap.
(voice-over): By typing in keywords, I found a Web site within minutes offering tiger cubs for just a few hundred dollars.
(on camera): There's one right there.
(voice-over): Here at the Bronx Zoo, experts contend that kind of access only feeds the problem.
JOHN CALVELLI, WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: At this rate, we believe there will be more big cats in Texas than there will be in the wild.
HEMMER: Those wild cats, often not well cared for, wind up in sanctuaries like this one in Ohio now housing Ming. You remember Ming, discover in a New York City apartment earlier this month. Congress is now trying to slow the flow of these animals. The Senate is set to vote this week on a bill prohibiting the transport of big cats across state lines. That proposed law won't affect Larry, though. Twice he's tried to put Spike in a bigger area, but he says the tiger did not respond well. He admits his backyard cage is far from perfect.
WALLACH: I've just come to love Spike. But I don't want you to think I think that this is the greatest place for Spike, because I don't. Spike should be in acres of land running around with other tigers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: The Captive Wildlife Safety Act will stop only the transport of these animals across state lines. The next step, they say, knows for states to pass their own restrictive laws that restrict the ownership of these cats as pets. Right now only 19 states have such laws. Without them, the warning is out there, the excessive breeding will continue.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 20, 2003 - 08:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Since the attack of Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy and the story of a man who was bitten by the tiger he kept in a New York City apartment, we have learned that America has a bit of a fascination with keeping big cats in some small spaces.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER (voice-over): Spike is a 350 pound Siberian tiger and she lives in Larry Wallach's (ph) backyard.
LARRY WALLACH, TIGER OWNER: There's something very special about a relationship between a person and the wild.
HEMMER: To find them, we did not travel far. Larry and Spike are only 25 miles from New York City. It's all legal. Larry has a license. But animal advocates say this is no place for a cat like Spike.
WAYNE PACELLE, HUMANE SOCIETY: It's a miserable, pitiful existence and it's a sad fate for one of the most majestic, remarkable animals that graces this planet's face.
HEMMER (on camera): The Humane Society estimates as many as 15,000 big cats are in private hands in the U.S., big cats like lions and tigers. Activists say the problem is that the laws are too loose and the access is easy and cheap.
(voice-over): By typing in keywords, I found a Web site within minutes offering tiger cubs for just a few hundred dollars.
(on camera): There's one right there.
(voice-over): Here at the Bronx Zoo, experts contend that kind of access only feeds the problem.
JOHN CALVELLI, WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: At this rate, we believe there will be more big cats in Texas than there will be in the wild.
HEMMER: Those wild cats, often not well cared for, wind up in sanctuaries like this one in Ohio now housing Ming. You remember Ming, discover in a New York City apartment earlier this month. Congress is now trying to slow the flow of these animals. The Senate is set to vote this week on a bill prohibiting the transport of big cats across state lines. That proposed law won't affect Larry, though. Twice he's tried to put Spike in a bigger area, but he says the tiger did not respond well. He admits his backyard cage is far from perfect.
WALLACH: I've just come to love Spike. But I don't want you to think I think that this is the greatest place for Spike, because I don't. Spike should be in acres of land running around with other tigers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: The Captive Wildlife Safety Act will stop only the transport of these animals across state lines. The next step, they say, knows for states to pass their own restrictive laws that restrict the ownership of these cats as pets. Right now only 19 states have such laws. Without them, the warning is out there, the excessive breeding will continue.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
