Tiger mauls caretaker at actress' animal sanctuary

A"It came walking over to them,A" Tippi Hedren said of the tiger. A"What makes these animals so dangerous is for no reason at all this kind of accident can happen.

[Duh]

When will people learn that you cannot have tigers as pets and expect them not to attack you eventually...?

[Jane]

Duh wrote:

When will people learn that you cannot have tigers as pets and expect them not to attack you eventually...?

Just to clarify, Ms Hedren does not keep them as pets. This is a wonderful animal sanctuary. She rescues these large cats from people who have them as pets. They are generally mistreated and/or abused when she gets them.

[Mat]

Ms. Hedren may not have kept these "abused" animals as pets but does she have any and was any safety procedures followed?

[Lori]

Based on what limited information I have, Ms. Hedren is providing a safe haven for these animals. If she is allowing them to breed so there are more animals created--and therefore requiring santuary--I would feel differently, but I don't know if that is the case.

In any event, it sounds as though something went wrong procedurally, as a caretaker should only enter such animals' habitats when the animals are temporarily blocked from the area being maintained.

With regard to those obtaining exotic animals as pets, they are truly foolish to take such risks and put others at risk when the animals occassionally escape. They should be prosecuted along with suppliers of the animals.

[BDD]

You gotta love these LA "activists" telling the public they can't have tigers, but they'll keep them for you.(Who really does want one? But that's not the point)

[Michael Vick]

Yo, electrocute these cats...you don't damage their pelts and they make some kickin' rugs.

[Rob S]

Duh wrote:

When will people learn that you cannot have tigers as pets and expect them not to attack you eventually...?

Yo, "Duh", reread the article, and this time try applying some reading comprehension skills. Pretty ironic name you have chosen for yourself.

[Overlooker]

House cats do just as well as pets and they let you hug them--some of the time--and they don't try to eat you up.Frankly, I don't understand why these tigers and other big cats attack caretakers and people whom they have known for a long time. Are the cats playing games? Do the cats actually mean to harm these people? If house cats can love you, why can't the big ones love you, too?

[Patty]

I know for a fact that Ms Hedren does NOT keep these animals as pets, nor does she encourage others to have them as pets. She rescues them from the idiots who think they're adorable as cubs and want to have one around the house. Once they have destroyed the house, the owners no longer want them. Since they cannot be turned loose and many times have been declawed, Ms Hedren takes over their care at her sanctuary as opposed to putting them in a zoo, which isn't always possible either because of injuries, declawing, etc. I used to volunteer there and I know that all employees are taught the proper way to work around these animals and never to trust them. It may be that the handler assumed too much and did not take the proper precaution when working in the tiger's enclosure. One thing that volunteers, employees and even visitors are taught is that one should never bend down around them thus making themselves look small enough to be preyed upon. I do not know if that is what this person did, but it is possible. These animals are beautiful and should be respected. They cannot and should not be treated as pets nor should they be punished for doing what comes naturally. I do hope that Chris Orr is OK and that he will be able to tell his story at some point.

[Patty]

Lori wrote:

Based on what limited information I have, Ms. Hedren is providing a safe haven for these animals. If she is allowing them to breed so there are more animals created--and therefore requiring santuary--I would feel differently, but I don't know if that is the case.
In any event, it sounds as though something went wrong procedurally, as a caretaker should only enter such animals' habitats when the animals are temporarily blocked from the area being maintained.
With regard to those obtaining exotic animals as pets, they are truly foolish to take such risks and put others at risk when the animals occassionally escape. They should be prosecuted along with suppliers of the animals.

She does NOT allow them to breed. That is the first thing that is done is to spay or neuter them, if possible or keep them separated if it is not possible. She does NOT encourage breeding these animals. She would love to be able to close the sanctuary because there are no more animals in need, but this is not the case. The disposable pets just keep on coming. This is why she has been trying to get legislation passed to prevent these animals from being kept as pets. Ms Hedren's sanctuary is truly a good thing for these mistreated animals.

[Patty]

BDD wrote:

You gotta love these LA "activists" telling the public they can't have tigers, but they'll keep them for you.(Who really does want one? But that's not the point)

She is an animal rights activist, yes, but she does not keep these animals as pets. She runs a legitimate rescue sanctuary, with proper care but no breeding for abused, mistreated and otherwise homeless animals. She fights to have laws put into place to prevent these wild animals from being kept as pets, but the laws get voted down. Until the laws get passed, her sanctuary should remain open as a haven for these beautiful animals that can no longer live free as they were meant to live.

[What the]

"Who cares about Jose? What about my poor precious tiger?"

[ejhickey]

an incident like this while tragic is usually the result of human error, i.e. forgetting that large cats are wild and incredibly strong. Even when they are playful and not trying to attack something, these animals can be dangerous to be around because of their size and strength. They are not house pets and Ms. Hedren has tried to emphasize this. I hope that this incident will not tarnish her work

[Lou]

Wow, cats are very unpredictable...i wonder if she was licensed to handle them?

[REMAS]

ONE*STEP*AHEAD*CREW*REMAS*TENS E*DANKS*DREW*TAKE*KROE*TOUCH*C OUNT*LURCH*HEKO*MASTER*